


Astraphobia: An Extreme Fear of Lightning

by Scarlet_Absol_13



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Canon, Post-Episode: s03e18-21 Sozin's Comet, Post-The Last Agni Kai (Avatar), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Whump
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-08-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:48:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 22,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24975613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scarlet_Absol_13/pseuds/Scarlet_Absol_13
Summary: Zuko had always feared lightning, while Katara had never feared lightning, however in that moment, during the Final Agni Kai, Zuko felt his fear dissipate while terror rooted Katara to the spot.Zuko and Katara recover from the final Agni Kai in their own ways, while the rest of the Gaang provide their help and support.
Relationships: Iroh & The Gaang (Avatar), Iroh & Zuko (Avatar), Katara & Zuko (Avatar), The Gaang & Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 188





	1. Electric Thoughts

**Author's Note:**

> This is basically my take on what happens after Sozin's comet and the Final Agni Kai. I had almost crippling astraphobia (extreme fear of thunder and lightning) when I was a kid so that's how I know the official term for it (I'm almost 30 and I still really, REALLY don't like thunderstorms). There will be at least five chapters, I'm currently not sure how long it's going to go but without further ado, enjoy~!

Zuko had always had a fear of lightning. He couldn’t quite put his finger on what scared him the most about lightning. He didn't know if it had something to do with how loud thunder was, and thunder always followed a flash or bolt of lightning. Or perhaps it had something to do with how Azula could shoot lightning and would relentlessly torment him with it when they were kids. _“Lightning isn’t scary when you can shoot it you dumb-dumb.”_ She would taunt him in an almost singsong voice during thunderstorms, _“But you’ll probably never be able to do it, since you’re such a big baby and big babies can’t shoot lightning! Not to mention you're barely a good enough Firebender to shoot fire.”_ It didn’t help that she would maliciously shoot lightning outside his bedroom window while he was trying to study or read. He had been terrified when he watched Azula almost fatally shoot Aang with lightning back in Ba Sing Se. He had been almost numb with terror when his father shot lightning at him on the day of black sun.

“I’ll show you lightning!”

He realized what Azula was going to do a moment before she did it and at this moment he didn’t have time to be terrified. The instant he saw her glance towards Katara, Zuko knew one of them was going to end up getting seriously injured. And he hoped for Katara’s sake, that _he_ would be the one to take the blow. Katara was a master Waterbender and an excellent healer, if he got hurt he knew she could heal him. But if she got hurt, there was nothing he could do. Firebenders hadn’t been trained in the healing arts since Sozin had deemed Fire-healing a savage art and outlawed it. Only a small handful of Fire Sages still knew how to heal and given how deserted the capital was, he doubted that any of those Fire Sages were still in the city. He rushed to put himself between the two girls, reaching towards the lightning praying to Agni that he could get there in time. 

The instant he “grabbed” the bolt of lightning he knew he had made a critical, potentially life-threatening mistake. He didn’t get all of it. He only grabbed a small quantity of the lightning and the rest hit him square in the chest. The pain was unlike anything he had ever felt. He felt like he was suffocating and trying to will his seizing diaphragm to allow his lungs to take in oxygen only made the pain in his chest worse. The intense burning pain had spread to his entire body and was so severe he barely felt several of his ribs and one of his arms break when he finally hit the ground. But somehow he barely managed to redirect the lightning he had been able to grab back into the sky.

He barely heard his sister’s crazed laughter while he writhed in pain. He could feel himself starting to blackout and he nearly gave into the blissful and painless unconsciousness but Katara’s panicked scream brought him back to reality. He tried to pull himself off the ground, he needed to help Katara take down his sister, but he couldn’t move. His body was far too damaged for that. He could only lay there, fighting to stay conscious while Katara fought for both their lives.

“ _Katara..._ ” He thought numbly, “ _You have to beat her…_ ”

* * *

Karata had never feared lightning. Lightning had been a rare spectacle at the South Pole. Maybe once per winter they would get treated to the rare thunder-snow phenomenon and when it did happen her and her brother would watch in awe as the flashes and rare bolts of lightning lit up the sky. She had only just experienced her first traditional thunderstorm recently, and while she had to admit that lightning looked much prettier in a snowstorm, she still found the sight of lightning to be completely mesmerizing. She wasn’t even afraid of lightning when Azula killed Aang with it. She had been terrified that Aang was dead and the world’s last hope had faded from existence. But she hadn’t been afraid of the lighting that had caused it.

“No Lightning today?” Zuko taunted, “What’s the matter, Afraid I’ll redirect it?”

 _“Don’t taunt her Zuko!”_ Katara almost screamed.

“Oh I’ll show you lightning!” Azula screamed manically as she started summoning electricity.

 _“What the hell are you doing Zuko!?”_ Katara’s mind screamed as she saw Azula look her gaze in HER direction. 

In that moment, for the first time in her life, she feared lightning.

She felt like time slowed down as Azula fired the lightning at her. She wanted to move, she _NEEDED_ to move. But terror had frozen her in place. She then watched as Zuko rushed to shield her from the vicious attack with his body, _“Zuko what are you doing!?”_ She felt a cold terror wash over her as she watched Zuko take the brunt of the lightning to the chest, “ _NO! Not again…please not again.”_ She thought as his twitching body hit the ground hard, _“Please no…I don’t have any Spirit water left!”_ Zuko wasn’t voluntarily moving, the electricity coursing through his body was causing his muscles to seize and contract at their own will. “ _Please…don’t be dead. Please Zuko…I don’t think I can bring you back to life like I did with Aang.”_

She watched as he grasped at his bleeding chest and rolled onto his back, _“He’s alive!”_

“Zuko!” She screamed as she ran towards the gravely wounded Firebended lying several metres away. Her hands were already coated with water, ready to heal when a blue flash stopped her. She had nearly forgotten about Azula, and it could have cost her not only her life, but Zuko’s as well.

She watched as Zuko rolled onto his stomach and tried to pull himself up off the ground, _“Don’t move,”_ She mentally pleaded with him, _“You’ve done all you can. Just please don’t move, don’t make your injuries worse…I won’t be able to heal you if you die…”_

“I’d really rather our family physician look after little Zuzu if you don’t mind!” Azula screamed manically as she shot several more blasts of blue… _something_ at her. It was too hard to discern the fire from the lightning but Katara knew both were equally deadly. “Zuzu, you don’t look so good!”

 _“Gee I wonder why you crazy bitch!”_ Katara thought as she did what she could to evade the crazed Firebender’s wild and ruthless attacks when she tripped over some grated flooring and she saw her opportunity. There was water under the grates and there was a lot of it, _“This is my chance!”_ She thought as she spied a chain hanging from a light fixture, _“I have to get her over here!”_

“There you are, you filthy peasant!” Azula growled as she approached the grated flooring.

 _“Tui and La I hope this works,”_ Katara thought as she threw a couple of weak water whips at Azula who easily dodged them then advanced towards her and over the grates, _“If it doesn’t…”_ She repressed as shudder as Azula started to summon lightning at point-blank range and Katara thrust at much water as she could up around them and promptly froze it. Trapping both of them in a massive block of ice.

Katara relished in the panicked look on the other girl’s face as she realized that she was completely incased in ice, _“Take that you evil bitch!”_ Katara thought as she exhaled and turned the ice around her to water. She couldn’t say, she hadn’t picked that little technique up from watching Aang and Zuko train. She then strategically thawed the water around Azula’s hands to bind them before dragging her down towards the grate to tie her down. When Katara was satisfied with her work she thawed the rest of the water and tightened the bindings, not caring if she injured the disgraced princess. 

She then turned her attention to Zuko and sprinted over to him as quickly as she could. By the time she had gotten to him he had already lost consciousness, “Please don’t be dead, please don’t be dead, please don’t be dead,” She pleaded as she carefully turned him onto his back. His chest wound was awful. The bits of charred cloth mixed with the angry bleeding and blistering starburst-shaped wound was making her feel just a little bit sick. She could also see the lichtenberg figure scarring running up to his collar bone. _“There’s no way this won’t permanently scar him…”_

She covered her hands with water and gently placed them to Zuko’s chest and gasped. He was barely breathing and his heart was weakly beating erratically and in a way that wouldn’t sustain his life for much longer. Zuko was dying. 

She recalled what she had felt when she attempted to heal Jet and when she healed Aang. Jet’s ribcage and sternum had shattered into his heart and lungs, and unless Smellerbee or Longshot had mercifully put him out of his misery, Jet's death had probably been a long and agonizing one. When she healed Aang there had been nothing. No movement from his heart or lungs. The shot had been fatal and had probably killed him instantly. And if it weren’t for the spirt water, he would have stayed dead and the Avatar cycle would have broken. If she couldn’t heal him, and Zuko succumbed to the lightning strike, his death would at least be quick and relatively painless as he had already lost consciousness. 

She quickly did what she could to seal the wound just enough to stop the bleeding, she could work on it more later, and quickly started to heal his failing heart and lungs, “You need to fucking live. You hear me!” She whispered, “I’ll never forgive you if you die on me.” His broken ribs and arm could wait until his heart was beating enough to sustain life again. She felt his heartbeat strengthen as a small gasp escaped his lips. She looked down and saw his gold eyes had opened slightly and tears came to her own eyes.

“Thank you…Katara…” He barely whispered.

“I think I’m the one who should be thanking you.” Katara said. _“You saved my life and held on long enough for me to save yours.”_ She thought as she returned the water to her water skins. Zuko was nowhere near being fully healed and Katara would have to spend several days, if not weeks working on his extensive injuries but he was no longer in danger of losing his life and at that moment it was all she could ask for. She then carefully helped Zuko stand as Azula started screaming again.

The two of them just watched as Azula screamed and cried and breathed fire until she knocked herself over backwards and started sobbing.

As Zuko watched his sister scream and cry in defeat he couldn’t bring himself to feel happy about his victory. It was then he realized that Azula had been damaged by their father nearly as much as he had been, if not more so. The fact that she had been left at the capital meant that their bastard of a father had abandoned both of his children before either of them had turned fifteen. It was at that point when he started to almost feel bad for his younger sister and realized that maybe _he_ had been the lucky one all along. He had had someone to watch out for him and help guide him down the right path, and now that their father had abandoned her, she had had no one. And now she was paying a price she should have never had to pay.

As he continued to stand there, the pain from the lightning strike and his other injuries was starting to return, albeit slightly less intense. He was beginning to feel faint as the aftereffects of being struck by lightning were setting in and his body was starting to feel extremely heavy. He tried to grab Katara’s arm to steady himself but a bolt of pain shot from his wrist to his shoulder and his knees weakened. “Katara…” He mumbled as he struggled to keep his eyes open.

“Zu…ats…ong…?” He could barely hear Katara say as if from an incredible distance as her worried face swam in and out of focus, “Are…uo…ay?”

“It hurts…” He whimpered before he stumbled into her and into a blissful and pain-free darkness.


	2. The Calm Before the Storm

Katara stood there by Zuko’s side as he just watched his screaming, crying, fire-breathing sister. She couldn’t imagine what was going through his head at that moment. 

“Katara…” She heard him mumble.

“Zuko? What’s wrong?” She asked. She then noticed that his face had gotten incredibly pale and it looked like he was struggling to keep his eyes open, “Are you okay?” She asked as he started to sway on his feet.

“It hurts…” He whimpered as he stumbled into her knocking both of them over.

“Zuko!” She screamed as his unconscious form pinned her to the ground.

“Excuse me young Master,” One of the Fire Sages said as he walked towards them.

“Stay back!” Katara demanded as she did what she could to raise some water into an attack position.

“I only want to help you, young master,” the man said, “We have declared Prince Zuko the winner of the Agni Kai as Princess Azula turned her attacks on a member of the audience thus forfeiting the duel. Please allow us to help you.” He said with a deep bow.

“Are you positive you’re not going to imprison or harm us?” Katara asked wishing Toph was around so she could tell whether or not the man was lying.

“I swear on my life and to Agni that I will not harm you or the young prince,” The man said with another deep bow.

Katara sighed, “Okay,” She said as panic started to sink in, “Why did he pass out? Was I not able to heal him as much as I thought? Did I do something wrong when I tried to heal him!?”

The man carefully lifted Zuko off of Katara, set him down on the ground. He then summoned small flames to the palms of his hands and ran them up and down Zuko’s torso, “Calm down young one,” The man said, “Prince Zuko is going to be fine. He went through quite the traumatic experience that very few have been able to survive and his body is reacting accordingly. While it is going to take quite some time for him to fully recover, your healing abilities are remarkable. May I learn what your name is?”

“Katara.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you Master Katara,” The man said as he bowed, “Are you alright? Were you injured at all?”

“I’m alright,” Katara said, “I have some bumps and bruises but nothing serious.”

“Alright,” The Sage said as he turned his attention to the other teenage girl who was still whimpering, “What should we do about Princess Azula? With Prince Zuko unconscious, you’re going to have to make the decision.”

“I don’t know,” Katara muttered.

“We could throw her in the prison compound outside the city.”

“No,” Katara said, “Zuko wouldn’t want that for her. Is there some kind of hospital we could put her in until Zuko’s able to make the decision?”

“There’s a mental health facility not far from here,” The sage said.

“That would work,” Katara said, “I haven’t known Zuko personally for very long but I do know he wouldn’t want Azula in a prison.”

“Would you come help me restrain her while I chi-block her?” The Sage asked, “Once I get her Chi-blocked, I’ll have one of the other sages take her to the hospital and I’ll take you and Zuko to the palace.”

“Okay,” Katara responded.

As the two approached the Azula she started whimpering again, “Please, don’t tell father,” She pleaded, “Please don’t tell father I failed and lost to Zuko. He’ll…he’ll…he’ll never forgive me. He’ll treat me like Zuko. Please don’t tell father!”

“We won’t tell your father,” Katara said softly, “We promise we won’t tell your father. We just want to help you okay?”

Azula nodded as he sage chi-blocker her and she collapsed to the ground again, “You can take the restraints off,” He said as he beckoned one of the other sages over to them, “Please take her to the mental health facilities on the edge of the city.”

“Yes sir,” The other sage responded.

“Do not treat her like a prisoner,” The elder said, “She is still the princess of our nation.”

“Yes sir.”

The elder sage then turned to Katara, “Let’s get Prince Zuko to the palace so he can properly rest.”

“Do you want me to call Appa?” Katara asked.

“What’s Appa?” The Sage asked.

“The Avatar’s Sky Bison,” Katara responded as she held up a small bison shaped whistle, “Given how badly injured Zuko is it might be our best option to safely transport him to the palace.” The Fire sage nodded and Katara blew into the whistle and within moments the massive animal was at their side, “Appa, we need to get Zuko to the palace okay?” The massive animal roared.

“How are you going to get the Prince onto that thing’s back?” The elder sage asked. He was just slightly startled by the massive animal’s appearance.”

“I was going to climb up Appa, then raise him to Appa’s level on a pillar of ice,” Katara said.

“How about I just climb up on to that thing with the prince on my back?” The sage said, “That sounds just a little safer. But how do I climb up?”

“Just grab on to his fur like you would a rope ladder,” Katara said, “Appa has such thick fur he won’t feel it.”

Once the fire sage got on the saddle with Zuko, Katara took the reigns, “Just point me in the direction I need to go in,” she called out to the man.

“It’s the largest building at the centre of the city,” The man said.

“Alright, hold on tight. Appa, yip yip!”

* * *

Once they got to the palace the Fire Sage led Katara to Zuko’s room, “This is Prince Zuko’s bedroom,” He said, “He’ll probably be most comfortable here. I’ll go and fetch you some bandages, burn salves, towels and some water so you can clean and bandage the wound.”

“Thank you,” Katara said as she started to carefully remove Zuko’s burned shirts.

“Would you also care for something to eat or some tea?” The Sage asked, “You must be hungry.”

“If you wouldn’t mind,” Katara said, “You don’t have to bring me anything crazy, just a simple meal will be fine.”

“Alright,” The sage said, “I’ll let one of the cooks know.”

“Could you keep an eye out for the Avatar?” Katara asked, “He’ll more than likely be traveling with a small girl who’s a master Earthbender, a teenage girl with short reddish hair and a Water Tribe teenage boy.”

“I will tell someone to keep an eye out for them,” The Sage said, “I’ll leave Prince Zuko’s treatment to you.”

“I’ll do my best.” 

Several minutes later two young women entered the room holding various medical supplies.

One of the women gaspsed when she saw the condition Zuko was in and nearly dropped the bowl of water she was holding, “Prince Zuko!” She gasped, “What on earth happened?”

“He was hit by a bolt of lightning,” Katara responded, “He’s badly wounded but he should recover.”

“We were told to bring these supplies to you. One of the kitchen staff will bring you your meal when it’s ready. Is there anything else I can get for you?”

“I think I’m all set for now,” Katara said, “Thank you.”

“We’ll be posted right outside the door if you need anything else.”

Katara nodded as she started to clean the bits of fabric that were still stuck to the chest wound. She was almost thankful that Zuko was unconscious because she couldn’t imagine how much pain he would be in if he had been awake. Once she was certain she had gotten all of the fabric out of the wound she once again covered her hands in water and started another healing session. When she was about finished there was a knock at the door.

“Come in,” She called.

“Master Katara we’ve received word that a lone airship has landed just outside the city,” The Fire sage said as he entered the room, “The passengers match the description of the Avatar and his companions you gave earlier. They’re requesting your assistance.”

“I’ll head off as soon as I’m finished healing Zuko,” She said, “Could I bring them back here?”

“You may,” He responded, “I’ll tell the servants to prepare several rooms.”

“Would it be possible to bring a few futons or beds in here?” Katara asked, “Just in case anyone else is badly injured?”

“I can arrange for that.”

“Thank you.” Katara said as she returned the water to the bowl, “I’ll be back as soon as I possible.”

* * *

Katara nearly cried in relief when she saw that Aang, Toph, Suki, and Sokka were all alive.

“You guys are okay!” She exclaimed happily as she jumped off Appa.

“Sokka might have broken his leg during the battle,” Toph said, “But aside from that we all survived pretty much unscathed.”

“Aang did you do it?” Katara asked, “Did you defeat Ozai?”

“I did,” Aang said, “And I did it without killing him.”

“How?”

“It’s called energybending,” Aang responded, “I took his Firebending away. He’s powerless now.”

“I didn’t know that was possible.”

“Neither did I until a Lion-Turtle told me about it,” Aang replied, “How did things go here? Where’s Zuko?”

“Azula shot lightning at him and he was badly wounded,” Katara responded gravely, “He managed to survive it but I’m afraid he’s got a long and painful recovery ahead of him.”

“What about Azula?” Aang asked.

“She challenged Zuko to an Agni Kai,” Katara said, “Zuko managed to knock her down but then she tried to shoot lightning at me, which is how he got hurt. I took over for him after that and managed to defeat her.”

“So based on what Sparks has told us about how Agni Kais work,” Toph said, “Does that mean you get to be Fire Lord?”

“No,” Katara responded, “Zuko was deemed the winner when Azula tried to shoot lightning at me. I was told I could bring you guys to the palace to rest and recover.”

“What should we do with Loser Lord?” Toph said indicating Ozai’s bound form on the ground behind Aang.

“We’ll bring him along,” Katara said, “We can have one of the Fire Sages throw him in prison.”

“Look at you making all the big decisions,” Toph said.

“Well, Zuko can’t make them so someone had to,” Katara responded softly.

“Where’s Azula now?” Aang asked, “Is she in prison?”

“No,” Katara responded as she helped Sokka climb on to Appa, “She’s in a hospital for now. We’ll let Zuko decide what to do with her.”

“Sounds good,” Aang said as he grabbed Ozai leapt up on to Appa, “Suki keep an eye on him please.”

“It’ll be my pleasure,” Suki said with a smirk as she cracked her knuckles.

“Appa, yip yip!”

* * *

“Welcome back Master Katara,” The Fire Sage Elder greeted as they landed at the palace.

“Thank you.”

“Master Katara?” Toph quipped.

“The room preparations you requested have been completed,” The Fire sage said, “Our cooks have also prepared a light meal for you all. I’ll have them bring it to Prince Zuko’s room at once.”

“Thank you sir.”

“I’ll accompany Avatar Aang to the prison compound outside the city,” The Sage said, “We already have a cell prepared.”

“Are you _sure_ you’re not lined up to be the next Fire Lord, Katara?” Toph asked, “Because you’re acting the part almost a little too well.”

“No Toph I’m not going to be the next Fire Lord,” Katara said as she led the group to Zuko’s room, “I’m just kinda filling in for Zuko right now. Tomorrow I might head to Ba Sing Se and see if General Iroh can come here and take over for a while. Since I have no idea how long it’s going to take for Zuko to recover enough.”

“You’re acting like Zuko's on his deathbed or something,” Toph said as she followed Katara into a room, “I’m sure he’ll…holy shit…” she gasped as she stopped short.

“What’s wrong Toph?” Sokka asked as he also entered the room. He then laid eyes on the comatose Firebender, “Tui and La…Are you sure he’s going to be okay Katara?”

“Fuck, he’s a mess isn’t he?” Toph asked. Nothing about Zuko’s breathing and heartrate felt normal. His breathing was shallow and fairly laboured and Toph could tell his lungs weren’t operating at their full capacity. His heartrate was much slower and weaker than it usually was when he was asleep but it was still better than Aang’s had been when he had been struck.

“Yeah,” Katara said, “Are you able to monitor his heartrate and breathing at all?”

“Uh yeah,” Toph responded, “And it’s not good. He feels almost as bad as Twinkle-Toes did.”

“Sokka you can just lay down on one of the futons,” Katara said as she spread a liberal amount of one of the burn salves on the wound, “I’ll take a look at your leg once I bandage Zuko’s arms and chest.”

“Here let me help you with that,” Suki said as she gently sat Zuko up so Katara could work, “He feels a little warm don’t you think?”

“He’s a Firebender,” Katara responded, “His body temperature is higher than ours. When we lay him back down do you think you could splint his right arm?”

“Okay.”

“You can lay him back down now Suki,” Katara said, “I’m all set. Any change in his heartrate or breathing?”

“Nope,” Toph said, “He’s still completely and totally out cold.”

“I wish it was the full moon,” Katara said, “I would be able to heal him so much better if it was.” She turned her attention to her brother, “You hurt your leg right?”

“I can wait until tomorrow,” Sokka responded, “You look exhausted. Toph and Suki have it splinted and bandaged pretty well, I can wait.”

“Are you sure?” Katara asked.

“I’ll be fine,” Sokka responded, “Focus on healing Zuko. He needs it way more than me.” 

At that moment Aang along with a few members of the kitchen staff entered the room.

“Where do you want us to put the food Master Katara?”

“Anywhere is fine,” Katara said, “Thank you so much.”

“You’re very welcome Master Katara. Please let us know if you need anything else.” The two women bowed then left the room.

Aang slowly approached the bed and before he could say anything Katara stood up and threw her arms around him, “K-Katara…”

“Where the hell did you disappear to!?” She sobbed into his shoulder, “We thought you were gone! The woman with the shirshu couldn’t even find you.”

“I somehow ended up on the back of a Lion-Turtle,” Aang responded, “I didn’t mean to worry you.”

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“I’m sore everywhere, but I’m okay,” Aang said as he diverted his gaze to Zuko’s unconscious form, “Is this…what I was like after…”

“You were worse,” Katara responded, “Zuko survived the initial strike, you didn’t…but when I first started healing him, he was dying.” She paused as the tears threatened to fall again, “What if my healing abilities weren’t enough…what if I didn’t do enough and he never wakes up?”

“He’ll be okay, Katara,” Aang said, “Zuko’s strong he’ll be fine. He just needs to rest for a while. You’ve healed worse injuries before. You…” He dropped his voice, “You brought me back to life.” 

“I had spirit water though,” Katara muttered.

“it doesn’t matter,” Aang responded, “It wasn’t the Spirit water that brought me back to life, it was your healing abilities. Zuko is going to be fine, it’s just going to take him some time to recover.”

“O-okay,” Katara said as she finally released Aang, “We should probably eat a little something and try to get some rest. We all had a pretty eventful day.”

“I’m not really hungry,” Aang responded.

“Yeah…neither am I.”

“Suit yourselves,” Toph said, “It’s more food for Sokka, Suki, and me.”

Once they had all eaten their fill they settled onto the futons and spare mattresses that had been spread across the room.

“Try to get some sleep everyone,” Katara said.

“Okay _mom_ ,” Toph responded as she plopped down on the mattress closest to the bed and purposefully positioned herself so her feet were on the marble flooring, “Good night.”

“Make sure you get some sleep yourself,” Sokka told his younger sister, “You won’t be able to help Zuko if you don’t rest.”

“Okay Sokka.”

“Good night.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Katara seems a little panicky in this chapter but honestly what fourteen year old wouldn't be panicky in this situation. There's also a reason I titled the chapter the way I did, you'll find out why in the next few chapters.


	3. Panic Sets In

Several hours after everyone had fallen asleep, Toph woke with a start. She quickly rushed to the bed placed on hand to the unconscious Firebender’s skin and rushed to wake Katara.

* * *

Katara woke to a pair of small hands roughly nudging her shoulder, “Katara!” Toph’s voice called urgently, “Katara! You need to wake up!”

“What is it Toph?” Katara moaned tiredly, “It’s not even daybreak yet.”

“It’s Zuko.” Toph said.

“What’s wrong!?” Katara exclaimed quietly as any lingering grogginess from being awoken in the middle of the night faded instantly.

“He’s burning up,” Toph said, “As in, he has a really fucking high fever. And it’s not doing his heartrate and breathing any favors.”

Katara rushed over to the bed and didn’t even have to place her hand to his skin to feel the intense heat his body was giving off, “Fuck, this is bad,” She said, “You didn’t touch him did you?” She said vaguely remembering something she had heard about how a feverish Firebender’s skin could burn a non-Firebender if the fever was high enough.

“I kinda did,” Toph said, “And it really hurt…”

Even in the low light Katara could see that the palm of Toph’s hand was bright red. She quickly called some water to her hands and healed the burn. She then turned her attention to Zuko’s chest. Keeping the water around her hands, she removed the bandages and started a healing session, “There’s no infection…” She said, “But why is his fever so high?”

“Didn’t Aang get a bad fever after he was struck by lightning?” Toph said, “Maybe it just has something to do with the trauma of getting struck in the chest by something that can literally get hotter than the surface of the sun. And his body is just reacting to the trauma accordingly?”

“I hope that’s the case…” Katara said as she took several towels soaked them in water then froze them and put one around his neck, one on his forehead, one under each of his arms and the last two on each of his wrists.

“Wass goingon?” Sokka mumbled, “Why’zit so hot?”

“Zuko has a really high fever,” Katara responded as she froze half of the water in the basin near the bed.

“Oh thass not good.”

“Just go back to sleep Sokka,” Katara said, “There’s nothing you can do.”

“Mmm’kay.”

“I thought he felt a little warm last night,” Suki said, “Do you need any help?”

“If you wouldn’t mind,” Katara said, “I’m not going to bother bandaging his chest right now. I don’t think it would help.”

“Probably not,” Suki said, “We would only end up having to change them out every half hour given how much he's sweating. What do you need me to do?”

“Could you change out the towels as they get warm?” Katara asked as she made sure the water in the basin was ice cold then shattered some of the ice into small chunks, “Just try not to touch his skin. Toph already got burned. And if you can try slipping some ice on the inside of mouth between his teeth and cheek or under his tongue to try to keep him hydrated. Just see if you can get him to drink something anyway you can.”

“Zuko’s not doing well is he?” Aang’s voice came.

“No,” Katara said, “He’s got a high fever right now. And I need to borrow Appa.”

“Okay,” Aang said, “But why?”

“I’m going to Ba Sing Se to get his uncle,” Katara said, “I just… don’t know what else to do. I need someone who knows more about Firebenders.”

“Okay,” Aang said as he handed the Bison whistle to Katara, “I think he’s hanging out in a courtyard just down the hall. Don’t worry, we’ll take care of Zuko.”

“Try to cool him down and keep him hydrated as best you can,” Katara said before rushing from the room to find Appa.

As Aang had said, Katara found Appa in a small courtyard, “Appa,” she called out as she climbed on him, “I need you to fly to Ba Sing Se as quickly as you can. Yip yip.”

* * *

“Aang,” Suki called out in an attempt to wake the Avatar a few hours after Katara had left for Ba Sing Se. Toph, Aang, and Suki had agreed to take turns monitoring Zuko for the rest of the night, “Aang! Wake up!”

“What is it?” Aang asked tiredly.

“There’s steam coming off Zuko’s body,” She responded urgently, “I don’t know what it means.”

Aang sat up and looked towards the bed and sure enough there was a decent amount of steam coming off Zuko’s bare chest, “Spirits, that can’t be good,” He said, “Stay here, I’ll see if I can find the Fire Sage who’s been helping us. Try to see if replacing the towels helps stop the steaming. Just be careful not to touch his skin.”

Suki had just finished changing out the towels when Aang returned with the Elder Fire Sage.

“Has there been any change?” Aang asked.

“Not yet,” Suki responded as she wiped the sweat from her brow, “I only just changed out the towels.”

“Let me take a look,” The Fire sage said as he summoned small flames to his hands and hovered them over Zuko’s body, “He has a high fever and his body is just trying to cool itself,” The sage explained, “His body is trying to disperse the excess heat through his skin which is causing his sweat to evaporate rapidly.”

“Is it kinda like how steam will come off a rain-soaked boulder when direct sunlight hits it?” Aang asked.

“Exactly Avatar Aang,” The Elder said, “I can imagine how alarming it must be to someone who has never seen it before but I can tell you that it’s a fairly normal occurrence.”

“Thank you for clearing that up,” Aang said, “We were worried that something bad was happening to him.”

“You’re quite welcome,” The sage said, “Should I tell the kitchen staff to prepare some breakfast?”

“If you wouldn’t mind,” Aang responded, “How should we go about trying to lower his fever?”

“What you’re doing is fine. Where’s Master Katara?”

“She went to Ba Sing Se to get Zuko’s uncle,” Aang responded, “She should be back by nightfall.”

“In that case I’ll bring you a sedative tea in case he wakes before Master Katara returns,” The sage said, “His injures are still quite extensive.”

“Because his injures are so bad Katara can only heal him a little at a time,” Aang said, “She’s been focusing on the damage to his heart and lungs.”

“Master Katara is doing a wonderful job with his injuries,” The sage said, “She’s a remarkable healer.”

“Yeah, she really is.” 

* * *

It was nearly midday by the time Katara reached the Order of the White Lotus camp on the outskirts of Ba Sing Se, “Master Pakku!” She called out to the master Waterbender.

“Katara, what brings you here?”

“Where’s General Iroh?” Katara asked.

“What’s wrong?” Iroh’s voice came.

“It’s Zuko,” Katara started.

“What happened!?” Iroh demanded in a panicked manner.

“He got badly injured during the battle with Azula and while I did what I could to heal him, he’s got a terrible fever now and I just don’t know what to do.”

“What did Azula attack him with?” Iroh asked.

“Lightning,” Katara responded, “She had aimed it at me, and he jumped in the way. He was able to shoot some of it into the sky but he still sustained a serious injury.”

“How high is his fever?” Iroh asked.

“High enough that it burned Toph’s hand,” Katara responded, “There’s no infection but…he’s really sick. Aang, Toph, and Suki are taking care of him at the moment.”

“Was Avatar Aang able to defeat Ozai?” Iroh asked.

“He was,” Katara said, “He took Ozai’s bending away.”

“Where is he now?”

“In a prison outside the Fire Nation Capital.”

“What about Azula?”

“I defeated Azula after Zuko was injured,” Katara said, “She’s in a mental health facility.”

“I’ll return to the Fire Nation capital with you,” Iroh said, “I’ll take care of things until Zuko is well enough to be crowned Fire Lord. You don’t mind, do you Master Pakku?”

“Go be with your nephew,” Pakku said, “It sounds like he needs you more than we do. Was anyone else injured?”

“Sokka hurt his leg,” Katara responded, “But he told me not to worry about it. But no one else was injured.”

“Alright,” Pakku said, “I’ll let everyone else know what’s going on. Go be with your nephew General Iroh.”

“Thank you Master Pakku,” Iroh said. He then turned to Katara, “Let’s go.”

* * *

Aang sighed as he started to change out the towels that they were using to try to lower Zuko’s temperature for the fifth time that hour, “I don’t think this is working.” He said, “The towels heat up almost as soon as we put them down.”

“We have to keep trying,” Suki said, “Until Katara gets back there’s nothing else we can do. At least his body isn’t steaming anymore.”

“We just have to hope she comes back soon and Zuko stays asleep.”

A soft moan brought their attention to the teenager on the bed, “Too late for that one,” Toph said, “Zuko’s awake. Make sure he doesn’t try to move, his breathing and heartrate are still a mess and his body isn’t doing much better.”

“Zuko?” Aang asked tentatively as he tried to place an iced towel on his forehead.

“Don’t touch me!” Zuko muttered in a pained whisper as he knocked the towel out of Aang’s hand with his uninjured arm in a failed attempt to Firebend.

“And he’s delirious.” Toph said, “Wonderful.”

“It’s okay,” Aang said as he placed another ice cloth to Zuko’s forehead, “We’re not here to hurt you. We’re trying to help you. Just relax.”

“You’re…the Avatar!” Zuko gasped as he tried to sit up and weakly cried out in pain.

“Aang his heartrate is going crazy and it can’t be good for him,” Toph said, “You need to calm him down.”

“Don’t move,” Aang said, “You’re badly injured and very sick. Try to go back to sleep.”

“No…you’re going to kill me...”

“Here,” Toph said as she approached the bed with the sedative tea the elder sage had prepared for them earlier, “Drink this. Your uncle made it for you, he said it’ll help you feel better.”

“No…it’s poisoned...”

“I’ll take a sip first to prove it isn’t poison,” Toph said as she took a sip of the tea and waited a few minutes, “See? It’s safe. Aang, Suki carefully prop him up so he doesn’t choke on it.” Toph carefully tipped the tepid liquid into Zuko’s mouth, “You can lay him back down now. Just close your eyes and try to go back to sleep. Your uncle will be here to care for you soon.” Within minutes Toph felt Zuko’s heartrate and breathing ease and he fell asleep again. “He’s asleep.”

“What was that all about?” Aang asked.

“He was probably dreaming,” Toph said, “Given how his heartrate and breathing were fluctuating before he woke up. And since his temperature is literally high enough to burn our skin if we’re not careful, he probably thought he was still dreaming.”

“Let’s hope Katara gets back soon.” Aang said as he started to replace the towels again.

* * *

“Hey guys, Katara’s back!” Toph exclaimed shortly after sunset, “Hey where’s Uncle?”

“He’s talking to the Fire Sages,” Katara responded, “He should be here in a few minutes. How was he?”

“It’s been a rough day,” Aang responded, “His fever got so high he had steam coming off his body this morning. Then some time around lunch he woke up and thought we were going to kill him. His fever has started to come a little bit and we can touch his skin without it burning us but we don’t think it’ll be down by tomorrow.”

“They wouldn’t let me help monitor him!” Sokka exclaimed almost angrily.

“You’re hurt too,” Toph said, “You can’t exactly rush off to fetch towels or water with your leg like that. Why won’t you let Katara heal it?”

“It’s taking everything Katara has to heal Zuko,” Sokka said, “I’ll manage with a broken leg for a few weeks but if Katara doesn’t treat Zuko, he could…well…you know…”

“But he’s been more or less the same as when I left?” Katara asked as she started a healing session, “Toph how’s his heartrate?”

“Pretty much the same as it’s been,” Toph said, “It’s still nowhere near normal for him and it’ll beat erratically on occasion. His breathing still isn’t great either but that could just be from the fever and it did improve after we propped him up. But every time you heal him both improve slightly.” Toph paused for a moment, “Uncle!” She exclaimed as Iroh entered the room.

“Hello Toph,” Iroh greeted quickly before rushing to the bed.

Iroh bit his lip, Zuko looked awful. His fever-flushed and sweat-soaked face held a look of pain Iroh had seen too many times in the past three years for his liking. The boy’s breathing was rapid and shallow due to the high fever. Iroh nearly cried when he saw the starburst-shaped chest wound and realized just how close he had come to losing his second son. He summoned small flames to his hands and ran them over Zuko’s body, feeling for the extent of the injuries. It was the first time he had been able to do this to someone who had been struck by lightning and was still alive, he knew of only two lightning-strike survivors, and both were in that room. Based on the damage, Iroh knew that if anyone else in their little group had accompanied Zuko on the day of the comet, Zuko wouldn’t still be here.

“Is everything okay?” Katara asked softly trying not to break the Firebender’s concentration.

 _“He would have died...”_ Iroh thought as he extinguished the small flames then immediately hugged the young Waterbender, “Thank you,” he muttered tearfully, “Thank you for saving him.”

“Y-you’re welcome,” Katara responded.

“Why don’t you kids get some rest,” Iroh said, “I’ll take care of Zuko tonight.”

“Are you sure?” Katara asked.

“You’ve done more than enough to help him,” Iroh said, “You deserve to get some sleep.”

“Can I at least heal him one more time?” Katara asked, “I want to do some work on his arm and ribs.”

“His broken ribs and arm can wait until tomorrow,” Iroh said, “Whoever splinted his arm did a wonderful job and the broken ribs aren’t exacerbating his condition at all. Please just rest tonight.”

Katara sighed, “Okay.”

Iroh smiled at the girl but then turned to the window and frowned. Despite the vibrant and beautiful sunset, Iroh could sense a powerful storm coming and it didn’t bode well for any of the kids in the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't quite know why I headcanon that Firebenders' bodies will produce steam with a high enough fever but I do. I have a ton of random little headcanons sprinkled throughout this story. Also Aang and Iroh are the only two who don't swear, the worst word Aang will use is "spirits."


	4. The Thunder Rolls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not much to say about this chapter, there is a reason why Katara was the one who ran to Ba Sing Se in the last chapter but it's addressed in a later chapter.

Iroh sighed as he carefully worked to pull the excess heat from Zuko’s body for the third time that night. After his failed siege at Ba Sing Se, he had done whatever he could to secretly learn Fire-healing from the Wan Shi Tong Spirit library. However, because his grandfather had outlawed the practice and teaching of Fire-healing he had never had a proper teacher and had only managed to learn how to assess injuries and temporarily reduce fevers. Depending on the fever, pulling the heat from the body would keep it down from anywhere between one hour to six hours at a time. With Zuko’s current illness, which was more-or-less caused by the trauma of surviving a lightning strike, the fever-lowering technique Iroh was using was only working to keep the boy’s fever down for about an hour.

A distant rumble of thunder brought Iroh’s attention to the window.

“Uncle,” Toph’s small quiet voice came from the darkness.

“What’s wrong Toph?”

“Could…could I come sit with you for a while?” She asked tentatively, “Until the storm is over?”

“Yes. Come here little one,” Iroh responded, “Are you afraid of thunder?”

“Yeah…a little…” Toph admitted as she snuggled up against Iroh, “It’s just so loud and scary. My parents always brushed it off saying “oh thunder is harmless it’s nothing to be scared of” but they never understood. Because I didn’t know about the dangerous part of a thunderstorm, they never bothered to explain the part of a thunderstorm I _did_ experience. And you better not tell anyone, or I’ll throw rocks at you.”

“I promise you, I’ll keep it a secret,” Iroh said as he glanced down at Zuko, “Everyone has at least one thing they’re terrified of, even me.”

“You’re afraid of losing Zuko, aren’t you?”

Iroh’s eye widened, “I am,” he said softly, “I’ve already lost one son to the war I don’t know what I would do if I lost Zuko too.”

“At least your fear makes sense,” Toph said, “Mine is silly and childish.”

“What makes you say that?” Iroh said.

“After I turned ten my parents told me it was childish to be afraid of thunder,” Toph said, “And they told me to get over it.”

“It’s not a silly or childish fear,” Iroh said, “No fear is silly or childish. How about to try to get a little more sleep before the storm gets bad. It’s still a ways off.”

“You’re worried about something,” Toph said, “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know how Zuko is going to react to the storm,” Iroh said, “Given what happened to him just a few days ago and his condition…I can only hope he sleeps through it.”

“He probably won’t,” Toph said, “He’s not unconscious like he was yesterday, he’s just asleep and it’s not a very deep sleep either. But he feels a lot cooler than he did earlier today.”

“That’s only because I’ve been trying to pull excess heat from his body to keep his fever low but it doesn’t last very long,” Iroh said, “His temperature will be right back up to what it was within an hour.”

“I didn’t know Firebenders could do that.”

“It was a practice that my grandfather outlawed,” Iroh said, “Using Firebending for any kind of healing was deemed a criminal way of using the art.”

“That’s idiotic considering the man started a war,” Toph said, “No offense. But how did you learn it?”

“I spent weeks in the Wan Shi Tong Spirit Library,” Iroh responded, “Trying to teach myself in secret.” 

“That’s amazing,” Toph said with a yawn, “And I’m gonna try to get a little bit more sleep.”

“Sleep well, Toph.”

* * *

Nearly two hours later a particularly loud thunderclap caused Zuko to wake with a panicked scream.

“Calm down,” Iroh urged as he placed an iced towel to Zuko’s burning forehead, “You’re far too sick and injured to be working yourself up.”

“Make it stop,” Zuko whimpered as another crash of thunder made him grab his head with his uninjured arm and shook almost uncontrollably, “Please make it stop.”

“It’s okay,” Iroh cooed softly, “I’m here. You’re safe. Just try to relax.”

“What’s going on?” Aang asked, “Is everything okay?”

“Zuko has never liked thunderstorms,” Iroh said as he replaced the iced towel, “It just startled him a bit.”

“I don’t think a bit startled covers it,” Toph said, “His heartrate is going crazy.”

“Should I try…” Katara started then a bright flash and intricate bolt of lightning lit up the room and she froze. Panic was bubbling up inside of her like it had after watching Zuko get struck two days before.

“Katara…” Toph asked picking up on the drastic change in the girl’s heartrate, “Are you okay?”

Katara rushed over to the window to make sure it was closed before rushing over to the futon she had been sleeping on and pulled the blankets over her head, “I’m fine.”

“You’re lying,” Toph said before a loud thunderclap that shook the palace made her jump and press her small hands to her ears, “ _Fuck_.”

“Here, maybe this will help,” Iroh said as he lit a few of the lamps in the room then reached for the two tea pots he had placed on the bedside table earlier that day, “How about we enjoy some calming tea.” He prepared a strong sedative tea for Zuko and a soothing chamomile tea for the rest of the children. “Aang, could you pull the curtains over the windows?”

“Okay.”

“Uncle…” Zuko whispered as Iroh gently propped him up a bit more than the pillows under his upper body did.

“Drink this,” Iroh said, “It will help you sleep through the rest of the storm.” Zuko barely nodded then allowed Iroh to carefully tip the warm liquid into his mouth. Once Zuko had finished the tea Iroh carefully rested the boy against the bed and within moments he was asleep again. “The rest of you can come here for some calming chamomile.”

“Does Zuko always freak out during thunderstorms?” Toph asked as she walked up to the bed and Iroh handed her a cup of tea, “Or is this something new?”

“Zuko has almost always panicked during storms,” Iroh said, “Maybe you could talk to him about it when he’s feeling better. I think both of you could benefit from it. Katara, are you okay?” He asked as the young Waterbender crawled out from under the blankets.

“I think so,” She responded quietly, “It’s just after what happened…the lightning…”

“That’s completely understandable,” Iroh said as he handed the girl a warm cup of tea, “You’ve watched two of your friends nearly die because of lighting. Anyone would be wary of lightning after that.” He turned his attention to the young Avatar, “Would you like some tea Aang?”

“Yes please.”

“What about Sokka?” Iroh asked.

“Boomerang boy is still completely dead to the world asleep right now,” Toph said, “He’s not going to wake until morning.”

“When you finish your tea, you should all try to get some more sleep,” Iroh said, “The storm is starting to die down and there are still a few hours until sunrise.” Iroh then turned his attention to his nephew and once again started working to carefully pull the excess heat from his body.

“What are you doing?” Katara asked.

“Pulling the excess heat from his body to try to lower his fever,” Iroh said, “It’s a basic form of fire-healing.”

“I didn’t know firebending could be used for healing.” Katara responded.

“It was outlawed by my grandfather,” Iroh said, “I did what I could to teach myself how to do it. I’ll explain more about it tomorrow. For now, just try to get more sleep.”

“Thank you for the tea,” Katara said before returning to her futon, “Could…you leave the lamps lit? If that’s okay with everyone else…”

“I’m okay with it.” Aang said.

“It doesn’t make a difference to me,” Toph said.

“Thanks guys,” Katara said as she pulled the blanket over herself, “Sleep well.”

* * *

Sokka was rather confused when he was the first person to wake up the following morning.

“Good morning Sokka,” Iroh greeted softly.

“Did something happen last night?” Sokka asked, “Everyone’s still sound asleep.”

“There was a bad storm last night,” Iroh said, “It woke a few of your friends up.”

“How’s Zuko?” Sokka asked.

“He hasn’t changed much,” Iroh said, “How is your leg?”

“It’s nothing I can’t handle,” Sokka said, “I just wish I wasn’t confined to this futon.”

“I’ll see if someone can bring you some crutches to use,” Iroh said.

“That would be great,” Sokka said as Suki sat up, “Good morning Suki.”

“Would you two mind keeping an eye on Zuko for a while,” Iroh said, “There are a few things I have to do this morning.”

“Go ahead,” Suki responded.

“Thank you.”

* * *

After telling the cooks to make the children camping out in Zuko’s room some breakfast Iroh made his way to the mental healthcare facility Azula was being kept in for the time being.

“General Iroh,” The head doctor greeted, “To what do we owe this honour?”

“I’m here to see my niece, Princess Azula.” Iroh stated.

“We were under the impression that we weren’t to let anyone visit her until Prince Zuko decides what to do with her.” 

“Prince Zuko has had a high fever and has been in and out of consciousness due to a serious injury since the comet,” Iroh responded, “And I’ll be making the decisions until he recovers enough to get out of bed.”

“Yes sir. Your niece is this way. Please understand that we’ve had to keep her restrained since she was brought here. Every time we’ve tried to take the restraints off she’s tried to attack.”

“How is she?”

The doctor sighed, “It’s not good General,” The man said, “She keeps hallucinating her mother, screaming that her father is going to “treat her like Zuko” now, and thinks everyone is going to kill her. Whenever one of our counselors tries to sit and talk with her she screams and tries to breathe fire at them.” The stopped at a locked room, “We hate having to keep her like this, but please understand we don’t have any other choice.”

Iroh sighed as he walked into the room and saw his fourteen year old niece wrapped in a straightjacket and sitting on a bed, “Princess Azula,” He said softly.

The girl looked up, “You.” She growled, “Why are you here.”

“I just wanted to check up on you.” Iroh said.

“LIAR!” Azula screamed, “YOU’RE HERE TO TAKE ME AWAY AND TURN ME AGAINST FATHER LIKE YOU DID TO ZUKO! MOTHER’S ASKED YOU TO KILL ME HASN’T SHE?”

“No, Azula, I’m not here to kill you,” Iroh said, “You’re a member of my family and I care deeply about you.”

“No you don’t!” Azula yelled.

“Yes I do,” Iroh said, “And I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you. My brother did awful things to you and I wish I could have done more to help you.”

“HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT MY FATHER LIKE THAT!” Azula roared with a bright burst of fire, “YOU’RE JUST A LAZY AND INSANE OLD MAN WHO BETRAYED AND ABANDONED OUR COUNTRY! I WILL NEVER LET YOU HELP ME. YOU TURNED ZUKO INTO THE WORTHLESS AND WEAK TAITOR HE IS! I WON’T LET YOU DO THAT TO ME! I WANT YOU TO LEAVE!”

Iroh sighed, “Okay,” he said, “But please know that I love you Azula and I just want what’s best for you.”

“No you don’t,” Azula screamed, “You’re just like my mother! Lying to say you love me or some other bullshit like that but then you’ll stab me in the back and abandon me like my worthless and traitorous friends did.”

“I promise you I won’t do that,” Iroh said, “I’ll always be there for you Azula.”

“GET OUT!” Azula roared, “AND TAKE MY MOTHER WITH YOU!”

The doctor opened the door and led Iroh out of the room.

“Do whatever you can to treat her,” Iroh said, “I will cover all the costs.”

“You’re not going to let Prince Zuko make the decision?” The doctor asked.

“I know Prince Zuko well enough to know that it’s the same decision he would make,” Iroh said, “And given that Azula was the one who gravely wounded and nearly killed him three days ago, it might take a while for him to feel comfortable coming to visit her. I’ll be back to check in on things.”

“Yes sir.”

* * *

After leaving the mental health facility Iroh made his way to the prison his younger brother had been placed in.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t my sorry excuse for an older brother,” Ozai spat, “What do you want? Since I doubt you’re here for a friendly chat over tea.”

“I’m here to tell you that I’m taking Zuko and Azula into my care as of today,” Iroh said, “And you will never do anything to harm or abuse either of them ever again.”

“You actually want my worthless traitor of a son and my lying failure of a daughter?” Ozai responded, “Take them, they’re useless to me. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you when they inevitably disappoint you as well."

“How can you say such awful things about your own children!?” Iroh screamed, “I would do anything to get just one more hour with my dear Lu Ten! And you! You can go and ruthlessly cast both your children aside before their fifteenth birthday just because they didn’t turn out the way you wanted them to turn out!?”

“I never would have considered bringing a second child into this world if my first-born hadn’t been such a weak and pathetic child.” Ozai said, “It’s not like I wanted to bring Azula into the world, I didn’t have a choice. I wasn’t going to succeeded by a son who could barely produce sparks until he was seven years old. I should have killed him when I had the chance.”

Iroh roared in anger as he threw a fire whip towards the cage his younger brother was being held in, “How can you be so cruel and disregard your own children!” He screamed, "How can you even _think_ about killing your own son!?"

“Father was the one who ordered me to kill the boy,” Ozai responded, “So if you’re going to be angry with anyone it should be him. And I’m sure you’re wondering how I got out of a direct order from the Fire Lord.”

“I’ve heard the rumors,” Iroh said, “How our father died the same night Princess Ursa vanished and then you were crowned Fire Lord despite your birthright the following day. I think I can come to my own conclusions. But I couldn’t care less about something that happened years ago.”

“Besides, with the boy’s mother out of the way, I could do what I pleased with him. She babied him far too much and if affected his already pitiful Firebending.”

“Zuko has become an excellent and powerful Firebender,” Iroh said, “Especially after learning the true source and meaning of Firebending. Based on what his friends have told me, he fought Azula to the draw multiple times and even bested her at an Agni Kai to succeed you as Fire Lord.”

“That useless fuck-up is going to be Fire Lord?” Ozai asked.

“He’s going to be one of the most empathetic and benevolent Fire Lords we’ve had in over a century,” Iroh said, “He’s going to right the wrongs, you, our father, and our grandfather committed.”

“Why haven’t I heard about a coronation yet?” Ozai asked, “I was defeated a few days ago. He should have already been crowned.” 

“He was badly injured during the duel,” Iroh said, “Azula fought dishonorably and turned her lightning on a friend of Zuko's who was a mere spectator. He took the blow and managed to survive it. He’ll be crowned once the Fire Sages and I feel he’s recovered enough.”

Ozai scoffed, “That failure couldn’t even win an Agni Kai without getting seriously injured?” He asked, “He’ll be assassinated within a month. Then Azula will take her rightful place on the throne.”

“That sounds like a threat Ozai,” Iroh warned, “And I’ll have you know, should I hear anything of you trying to stage a coup to get Azula on the throne, I _will_ have you punished accordingly. I don’t care if the Avatar spared your life.”

"That boy doesn't have an heir, if he is assassinated, Azula, the Crown Princess, would be next in line for the throne.”

“No, she wouldn’t,” Iroh said, “That child is in no condition to run a country and she may never be. Should the unspeakable happen to Fire Lord Zuko before he has an heir, it’s been decided that Avatar Aang will take the throne as interim Fire Lord until a worthy candidate can be selected.”

“That’s bullshit Iroh!” Ozai roared.

“He was the only option,” Iroh said, “Regardless of his Air Nomad status, Avatar Aang fits nearly all the criteria to serve as an interim Fire Lord in an emergency situation.”

“I’m surprised you wouldn’t want the throne for yourself after I had you stripped of your birthright.”

“I have no interest in the throne and my time on the planet will end well before the Avatar’s time will,” Iroh said, “Once Zuko is crowned and things calm down here, I’ll be going to Ba Sing Se to run a tea shop. And for your sake, I hope I never find reason to meet with you again. Good-bye brother.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A very Iroh-centric chapter. I headcanon that Firebenders can pull heat from the body. Let me know what you thought!


	5. Calming Rain

Katara was the last one to wake up that morning. While she would never admit it, she had had a hard time calming down enough to fall back to sleep after the storm.

“Good morning Katara!” Aang greeted cheerfully once he realized she was awake.

“Good morning Aang,” Katara responded, “How’s Zuko?”

“He hasn’t woken up since the storm this morning,” Aang said, “But he still has a pretty high fever according to Uncle Iroh.”

“His breathing and heartrate have barely changed,” Toph said, “But I get the feeling that once his fever breaks both will improve significantly.”

“Where’s General Iroh?”

“He said there were a few things he had to do and he would return around lunch time,” Toph said, “And by the way, his name is Uncle.”

“Where are Sokka and Suki?”

“Uncle had someone bring Sokka a set of crutches,” Aang said, “So he and Suki are exploring the palace.”

“Okay,” Katara said as she grabbed some water from the bowl on the bedside table and started a healing session. His heart and lungs felt almost completely back to normal. There was still just a little bit more damage she would have to work on that night when her powers were stronger but after that she would be able to start working on the lesser injuries he had sustained. She returned the water to the bowl and looked up to see a pair of tired, fever-glazed gold eyes looking at her and it took nearly all of her self-control to not throw her arms around him, “Zuko! You’re awake!”

“Where’s my uncle?” He murmured in a tired whisper.

“He said he had a few things to do today,” Toph said, “He’ll be back later.”

“Did…Aang do it?” Zuko asked, “Did he defeat my father?”

“I did.” Aang responded.

“So…he’s finally dead?” Zuko asked.

“No,” Aang responded, “I didn’t kill him.”

Zuko’s eyes snapped open in anger, “You didn’t kill him!?” He exclaimed as loud as he could, “I thought I told you, you needed…” He gasped in pain and clutched his chest, “Fuck…”

“Take it easy,” Toph urged, “Let Aang explain what he did and for your sake calm down. You still have some pretty serious injuries and you’re very sick right now.”

Zuko nodded and tried to catch his breath, “What did you do?” He asked.

“I took his Firebending away,” Aang said.

“You chi-blocked him!? What’s going to happen when…ugh…”

“Zuko, calm down!” Toph commanded, “Maybe we shouldn’t be having this conversation while he’s like this.”

“I didn’t chi-block him. I used another more powerful technique.”

“What…did you do to him?”

“It’s called Energybending,” Aang said, “I permanently took your father’s bending away. He’s a non-bender now and he won’t be able to hurt you, your sister, or anyone else ever again. I’ll explain it more when you’re feeling better. For now, just rest.”

“What about Azula?” Zuko asked tiredly. He had only been awake for a few minutes but it was quickly starting to feel like he hadn’t slept in days.

“She’s in a hospital,” Katara responded, “I didn’t think you would want her in a prison.” She took note of how he was barely able to keep his eyes open and carefully bended some of the drinking water one of the kitchen staff had brought, “Before you go back to sleep, I want you to drink some water. Because of your fever and how long you’ve been unconscious, you’re badly dehydrated.”

Zuko nodded and complied with Katara’s request. He was starting to get unbearably tired but there was one more thing he needed to know, “Did…did everyone…survive…?”

“Yes, Zuko,” Katara said with a smile, “Everyone survived. We’re all here and we’re all safe now. So just try to get some sleep, you still have a long recovery ahead of you.”

Zuko nodded and closed his eyes, within minutes he was sound asleep again.

“Okay new rule,” Toph said, “Until Zuko’s fever breaks, do NOT work him up. I thought his heart was going to explode.”

“First of all, he was the one who brought it up,” Aang said, “Second of all, it’s _Zuko_. He chased us from the South Pole to the North Pole and managed to somehow show up just about everywhere we went. He’s stubborn, he wasn’t going to go back to sleep until we had that discussion.”

“You could have said anything to keep him from freaking out,” Toph said, “It’s not like he’s going to actually remember the conversation once his fever breaks and he’s thinking clearly again.”

“I don’t know,” Aang said, “He seemed to be thinking pretty clearly, despite everything.”

“That’s true,” Toph said, “The first time he woke up he thought we were going to kill him.” She paused and turned to Katara, “Katara, are you okay?” she asked.

“I’m just…relived,” Katara responded tearfully, “He’s…he’s gonna be okay.”

“That’s what we’ve been trying to tell you,” Aang said, “Like I said, Zuko’s strong he’s not going to give up without a fight.”

“Exactly,” Toph said, “I haven’t know the guy for long but his stubborn streak could give me a run for my money. Will you stop acting like you failed now? You brought Twinkle-Toes back to _life_ for fuck’s sake! And if you use that “but I had spirit water” bullshit again I’m going to throw a boulder at you. Two of our best friends should probably be dead right now but thanks to you, they’re both still alive. Give yourself a little bit of credit will ya!?”

“Okay,” Katara said in a small voice.

“Hey guys,” Sokka greeted as he and Suki returned to Zuko’s room, “We’re back! Did we miss anything?”

“Zuko woke up again,” Aang responded.

“How was he?” Suki asked.

“A little less delirious than he was the first time he woke up,” Toph answered, “But still really weak and almost completely out of it.”

“So I take it he didn’t trying to Firebend at us this time?” Sokka asked.

“Nope,” Toph said, “He freaked the fuck out when Aang told him his father wasn’t dead but that’s understandable…all things considered.”

“Wait when did that happen?” Katara asked.

“Several hours after you left for Ba Sing Se,” Aang said, “That was a pretty eventful day. Zuko had steam coming off his body at one point. It was freaky.”

“I’ve seen that happen before,” Katara said, “It is freaky.”

“Wait, when did that happen?” Sokka asked, “This is the first time any of us have seen Zuko feverish.”

“I…might have helped Iroh out back when Zuko was still hell-bent on chasing us around the world,” Katara responded sheepishly, “A few days before Zuko tracked us down with the shirshu. I went to Zuko’s ship with Iroh to bend some ice for them because Zuko had a high fever and some idiot Fire Navy Admiral bought out the ice vendor in the area.”

“Was it the one who looked like a weird koala-sheep?” Sokka asked.

“I think so,” Katara responded, “I wonder what happened to him? We never saw him again after the siege at the North Pole.”

“The Ocean Spirit took him,” Iroh responded as he made his presence in the room known, “Zuko tried to save him, but he refused the help and got dragged down into a part of the spirit world rarely anyone escapes from.” 

“The Fog of the Lost Souls,” Aang responded quietly, “That’s almost a fate worse than death…”

“How so?” Katara asked.

“It’s a prison in the Spirit world that infects your mind and traps you in your darkest memories and plays into your worst fears,” Iroh responded, “Until you’re eventually driven to insanity.” He paused and turned to Zuko, “How is he doing?”

“He woke up a little while ago,” Aang said, “He wanted to know what happened during my battle with Ozai.”

“I’m guessing he didn’t take the news well at first,” Iroh said.

“He didn’t,” Toph said, “He panicked when he found out Loser Lord was still alive. But he calmed down drastically when he found out everyone survived.”

Iroh nodded and placed his hand to Zuko’s forehead. Zuko’s fever was lower than it had been the day before but still had the potential to spike at least one more time before it fell. “How about you kids go relax and do what you want today,” he said, “I’ll watch after Zuko for the rest of the day.”

* * *

Katara did not sleep well that night. Despite knowing that Zuko was going to make a full recovery in due time, her sleep was restless and plagued with nightmares. Finally after a particularly vivid and horrific nightmare where her closest friends were all struck down with lightning, she woke with a start. She quietly stood up and decided to go to the nearby courtyard. She recalled seeing a small pond and she needed to bend some water to help her calm down. She quietly tip-toed her way around her sleeping friends and left the room, not noticing that she wasn’t the only one in the room who was having a hard time sleeping.

* * *

Katara was sitting by the small pond just absentmindedly but gently bending the water up and down with her breathing. It was something her grandmother had suggested she do to calm down after her mother’s death and she had to admit it did help. She knew other benders had similar methods, she had seen Aang spin marbles around his hands using a small stream of fast moving air when he got stressed. She had seen Zuko control a small flame with his breathing and as for Toph, when she was upset, she either played with her metal bracelet or threw rocks around until she felt better.

“Katara…?” A quiet strained voice came, nearly causing her to jump out of her skin. She quickly brought the water she had been bending into an attack position until she saw who was standing in the entrance to the palace.

“Zuko!?” She gasped as she quickly dropped the water then rushed to his aid, “What the hell are you doing out of bed?” Even in the dim lamp light she could tell his extremely pale face was soaked with sweat.

“I…watched you walk out of my room,” Zuko muttered as Katara led him to the tree she had been sitting under, "I wanted to know...if you were okay..."

“I just needed to take a walk,” Katara said as she carefully guided Zuko to the ground, "I didn't wake you did I?"

“No, I was already awake,” Zuko responded as he rested his head on Katara’s lap, “You…were having nightmares, weren’t you?”

“Yeah…” Katara responded, “How did you know?”

“You were sleeping restlessly,” Zuko responded, “What were you dreaming about?”

Katara sighed, “I watched everyone get struck by lightning,” she responded softly as she called some of the water to her hand, chilled it then held it to Zuko’s almost impossibly warm forehead, “And I couldn’t save anyone.”

“Is it…because of what happened with Aang and I?” Zuko asked. The ice cold water felt wonderful against his skin and he felt himself relaxing. 

“Yeah…” Katara said, “I…I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to heal you. You were going to die and…unlike when I healed Aang, I didn’t have any Spirit Water. When you passed out after I healed you the first time, I panicked. I thought I had done something wrong.”

“Very few people survive that kind of attack,” Zuko explained softly, “I got lucky…I managed to redirect enough of it to keep it from killing me instantly but...it would have killed me eventually.” He paused, “It was one of the most painful things I’ve experienced. It was different than the burn to my face was…the pain from that stayed local and I lost consciousness quickly. The pain from the lightning…spread to my whole body…it still hasn’t gone away yet…”

“All the more reason you should still be in bed,” Katara responded, “And while I’m not entirely sure, I think you still have a fever.”

“I do,” Zuko responded, “It probably won’t be down by morning either. If anything, it’ll be worse.”

“And you still decided to get out of bed and follow me,” Katara responded.

“I had been awake for almost two hours,” Zuko responded in an almost whine, “I needed to do something to tire myself out. Normally I would just meditate but…I’m in no condition to firebend at all, even to meditate. Firebenders are strongly advised not to bend while feverish. Firebending temporarily raises our body temperature and can cause us to dangerously overheat when we’re sick…It’s really unpleasant.” 

“I’m guessing you’re speaking from experience.”

“Yeah,” Zuko responded, "I'll tell you the story when I'm feeling better." 

“Zuko…” Katara started quietly, “Can I ask you something?”

“What…?”

“Why…did you jump in front of Azula’s attack?”

“Because I knew…if I got seriously injured you’d be able to heal me,” Zuko responded, “But if you got seriously injured…there was nothing I could do. Firebending can’t be used to heal wounds like waterbending can. It was a risk on my life I was willing to take…but in that situation, I couldn’t risk your safety.”

“But…what if I hadn’t been able to save you…” Katara asked.

“From what I gathered…you brought Aang back to life after Azula shot and killed him. I knew as long as I survived you’d be able to heal me.”

“But I had Spirit Water that t-OW!” Katara gasped as something small but hard hit her in the upper arm.

“I thought I told you if you pulled that “ _but_ **I** _had_ **spirit** _water_ **that** _time_ ” bullshit again I was going to throw a boulder at you.” Toph’s voice came, “And I was going to but since Zuko is currently using your lap as a pillow instead of in his bed like he’s **supposed** to be, I had to settle for a much smaller rock. So consider yourself lucky sugar-queen.”

“Toph, what are you doing here?”

“Trying to figure out where Zuko ran off to,” Toph said, “Because I have to say when I woke up and couldn’t feel his breathing or heartrate, given his current condition, I almost had a mini-heart attack. But then I realized he wasn’t in the room at all and neither were you, I figured I’d go looking for you before Uncle woke up realized Zuko was missing. Since I don’t think he would have been too happy about that.”

“I needed to take a walk…” Zuko muttered.

“You need to be in bed,” Toph said, “If you two are done having your little heart to heart I really think we should get Zuko back to bed.”

Zuko nodded and slowly sat up, wincing slightly as the pain in his chest flared up a bit, “Ugh…”

“Let us help you,” Katara said as she carefully supported Zuko, “I still haven’t gotten to your broken ribs and arm yet, are they bothering you at all?”

“Not really,” Zuko said as Katara and Toph helped him stand, "You don't have to heal them...just let them heal naturally."

* * *

Zuko was rather out of breath by the time Toph and Katara got him back to his bed.

“Are you okay?” Katara asked as she placed an iced towel to Zuko’s forehead and a second one on the back of his neck.

“And don’t you _dare_ say you’re fine,” Toph said.

“I…should have stayed in bed…”

“No shit.”

Katara brought some water to her hands and started a healing session, “Does that feel any better?” She asked as she felt his breathing ease up a little.

“Yeah…”

“Your lungs and heart have healed well,” Katara said, “But they’re still very weak. It’s going to take a while for them to regain their strength. Try to get some sleep.”

Zuko nodded, shut his eyes and within minutes was sound asleep again.

“Why do I get the feeling that I’m eventually going to end up having to use my bending to keep his stubborn ass in bed?” Toph asked, “Get some sleep Katara, I’ll watch him for the rest of the night.”

“I’ll be fine Toph.”

“No, you’re doing the most work, get some sleep.”

“Okay. Good night.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Zuko's finally starting to perk up a bit but Katara still feels guilty. I don't quite know why I see Toph as one of the "voices of reason" (the other being Iroh), but I do. I know I want to continue the story to at least Zuko's coronation which will happen...eventually. Let me know what you thought and until next time~!


	6. Breaking Clouds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this chapter took longer than the other ones did. This was the first chapter I didn't have written when I uplaoded the last chapter. I actually kinda hit a wall while writing this chapter and ended up writing chapters 7 and 8 before I finished this one so...yeah.

Much to everyone’s relief and surprise, the fever Zuko had been running had fallen by morning and according to Toph both his breathing and heartrate had improved dramatically. Since Iroh had told the rest of the children to take a day for themselves, Sokka and Aang had gone back to the Western Air Temple to see if they could find Hakoda, Teo, the Duke, Haru, and Chit Sang, while Suki had gone off to see if she could find the rest of the Kyoshi Warriors so only Toph and Katara were left at the palace. Katara was sitting under a tree in the courtyard with the small pond. She found this particular part of the palace to be very inviting and comforting. 

“Hey Katara,” Toph greeted as she walked toward the tree, “Can I talk to you?”

“Sure what did you want to talk about?”

“How are you?”

“I’m fine,” Katara responded, “Why do you ask?”

“I’m only asking because Zuko’s not the only one who hasn’t had a normal heartrate,” Toph explained, “Your heartrate has been quicker than usual, almost like you’re constantly on the knife’s edge of a massive panic attack. So, and be honest this time, how are you holding up?”

Katara sighed, “It’s been really hard Toph,” she said softly, “I almost feel responsible for Zuko’s injuries. I should have stayed out of sight during the battle. If I wasn’t standing there, Azula wouldn’t have shot lightning at me causing Zuko to get hurt…”

“So Zuko got hurt because he was protecting you?”

“Yeah,” Katara said, “I should have stayed further out of sight. He would be fine if I hadn’t insisted on standing so close to the battle.”

“Katara you don’t know that,” Toph said, “We all know Zuko’s sister is straight up cruel. Look what she did to Uncle the first time we battled her. For all you know she could have done something equally as shitty and underhanded regardless.” 

“Until that first time he woke up, I was terrified I did something wrong,” Katara muttered as she pulled her knees to her chest, “I thought I hadn’t been able to heal him properly and…he was never going to wake up.”

“Is _that_ why you insisted on running off to Ba Sing Se even though one of us could have gotten Uncle for you?”

“Yes…” Katara muttered softly, “I felt…that if I had done something wrong when I healed him and Zuko wasn’t going to wake up again…I owed it to Iroh to explain everything before he saw Zuko again…to soften the blow. I felt like if Zuko was going to die because of me…”

“Katara what happened to Zuko wasn’t your fault!” Toph exclaimed startling one of the turtleducks, “It was Zuko’s wolf-bat shit insane sister’s fault! You need to stop blaming yourself, it wasn’t your fucking fault! Get it through your fucking head already!” The small Earthbender screamed while clapping after every word.

“Toph…”

“Okay, Sweetness, here’s what you’re gonna do,” Toph said, “You’re gonna go back to Zuko’s room and you’re gonna tell Uncle everything you’ve just told me. I think he can help you. And I couldn’t exactly hear what you and Zuko were talking about last night but I feel like you should talk to him about it again once he’s finally awake and coherent.”

“Okay,” Katara said, “Toph…where did this come from?”

“I realized since we’ve all spent so much time and energy trying to take care of Zuko, no one has really put much thought into how _you’re_ doing after what happened.” Toph explained, And it didn’t dawn on me until last night but, you haven’t had a good night’s sleep since before the comet have you?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Okay so once you talk to Uncle about how you’ve been feeling, the other thing you’re going to do is ask him if he can make you a tea that will help you sleep through the night.” Toph said, “And for the love of FUCK stop blaming yourself.”

“Okay…” Katara stood up, brushed herself off and Toph immediately embraced her in an almost bone crushing hug, “T-Toph…!”

“It seemed like you needed a hug,” Toph said as she released the older girl, “And I’m really sorry none of us bothered to ask how you were feeling until just now.”

“It’s okay Toph,” Katara responded.

“No, it’s not,” Toph said, “We should have noticed sooner. Now go talk to Uncle!”

* * *

“Um…General Iroh…?” Katara called sheepishly as she entered Zuko’s room.

“What is it Katara?”

“Could…could I talk to you about something…?”

“What’s on your mind Katara?”

“It’s about what happened…to Zuko,” She said, “Since the incident…I felt like what happened to him was my fault.”

“What makes you say that?” Iroh asked.

“Zuko only got hit with Azula’s attack because she aimed it at me,” Katara said, “And I feel as though I should have done more to stay out of Azula’s sight…That maybe if she hadn’t have shot lightning at me, Zuko would be okay.” She paused as tears came to her eyes, “And when…when he lost consciousness again after I healed him the first time…I was terrified I had done something wrong and that…he was going to die anyway…And when he probably needed me to heal him the most I…I left the palace to find you…because…I just couldn’t bear to see him like that because of me…”

Iroh sighed and placed a comforting hand to the girl’s shoulder, “What happened to Zuko wasn’t at all your fault,” He said, “My niece was the one who is to blame for Zuko’s injuries, not you.”

“I know but…Azula was aiming at _me_ …not Zuko…so I feel like…it’s my fault…”

“You had no control over the decision Zuko made when he put himself between you and Azula’s attack,” Iroh said, “He made the decision to protect you.”

“He told me last night that…he knew that if I got hurt there was nothing he could do to help me…So he didn’t mind risking his life to save mine…but,” Katara said, “But…what if I wasn’t able to heal him…He placed all his faith in me and I can’t help thinking about what would have happened if I let him down…”

“You don’t have to worry about what would have happened if you hadn’t been able to save his life because you did,” Iroh said, “His wounds should have been fatal, and would have been fatal if you hadn’t been there to heal him. There’s nothing you should regret about your actions that day.”

“But on a day he had a fever so high he had steam coming off his body I should have been by his side,” Katara said, “I should have been there to keep his fever low…But I just couldn’t stand to see him like that…and I just…needed to get away for a little while…for my own sake…”

“Then you made the right decision to leave for a little while,” Iroh responded, “You shouldn’t feel guilty about taking care of yourself for a little while. Waterbenders aren’t able to do much for fevers that aren’t caused by infected wounds am I correct?”

“You are…I tried to lower his fever before I left for Ba Sing Se but…nothing happened.”

“Then what could you have done that Avatar Aang, Suki, Toph, and Sokka couldn’t have done in your place?”

“Nothing I guess.”

“It’s important to take care of those in need,” Iroh explained, “But it’s even more important to take care of yourself as well.”

“Okay…”

“You did a wonderful job healing Zuko’s wounds,” Iroh said, “You should be proud of what you did and how you handled the situation. You handled things better than most adults would have and there’s nothing you should regret about your decisions and actions.”

“Okay,” Katara said as she wiped her eyes, “Thank you General Iroh.”

“Please Katara, call me Iroh. Or if you want you can call me uncle like everyone else does.”

“You don’t mind?”

“Not at all.”

“Okay.”

“Is there anything else you wanted to talk to me about?” Iroh asked.

“I…haven’t been sleeping well because of what happened,” Katara responded, “Is there a tea you could brew for me so I could get some sleep?”

“Of course.”

“Thank you.”

“Could I ask you to run to the market and pick something up for me?” Iroh asked.

“Sure.”

“There’s an herbalist in the market I’ve been meaning to visit since I returned to the city but I haven’t had the chance,” Iroh said as he wrote down a list of herbs, “Just hand the woman who runs it this and tell her Iroh sent you. She’ll understand.”

“Okay.”

“Have Toph go with you,” Iroh said as he handed small bag of coins to Katara, “I feel bad that the two of you stayed behind when you could have gone off with your friends. And feel free to pick up a little something for yourselves as well. You deserve to treat yourselves a bit.”

* * *

“So why did Uncle want us to go to the market again?” Toph asked once they left the herbalist Iroh had asked them to go to.

“He felt bad that we stayed behind while everyone else left,” Katara explained.

“But we _offered_ to stay behind,” Toph said.

“I know.”

“Did you tell him what you told me?”

“I did.”

“And what did Uncle say?”

“That I did everything right and shouldn’t blame myself for what happened to Zuko.”

“Are you gonna listen to him?” Toph asked, “Because you haven’t exactly listened to any of us.”

“I still want to talk to Zuko about it one more time,” Katara said, “Hopefully he feels up to it soon.”

Toph sighed, “Sweetness, you’re lucky we’re in the middle of the Fire Nation’s capital city right because if we were literally anywhere else I would throw a fucking boulder at you.” She said, “Literally everyone has told you to stop blaming yourself for what happened to Zuko and yet, here you are, still blaming yourself. Azula killed Aang with her lightning, okay? Aang fucking _DIED_! Do you honestly think you would have fared any better? You’re standing here blaming yourself for what happened to Zuko even though it wasn’t your fucking fault, but how do you think Zuko would have felt if something happened to you during his battle with Azula?”

“I guess…I didn’t think about that…” Katara said softly.

“Didn’t he tell you last night that if you got hurt he wouldn’t have been able to do anything to help you?” Toph asked.

“He did.”

“Okay then,” Toph said as she stopped, “And I think we have some trouble in coming.”

“What do you mean?”

“That girl who likes to pin people to walls with her knives is heading straight for us.”

“What!?” Katara looked over to where Toph was pointing and sure enough, the black-haired girl was running right for them, “Oh shit…”

“Do you think she wants revenge for what happened to Azula?” Toph asked as she got ready to attack.

“Who knows.” Katara said as she also got ready to attack.

“Wait!” The girl cried as she stopped in front of Toph and Katara, “Don’t attack!”

“Why?” Katara asked.

“I’m not here to fight you,” She said, “I’m here to thank you.”

“She’s not lying,” Toph said.

“What do you mean?”

“I know we met on bad terms but, I really have to thank you,” The girl said, “Iroh just told me what you did for Zuko and if it’s at all possible, I want to get to know you two, as friends.”

“What do you think Toph?” Katara asked.

“She’s being genuine,” Toph responded, “I say we hear her out then decide what to do. Your name is Mai right?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m Toph and this is Katara.”

“Nice to hopefully meet you on better terms,” Mai said, “And…I also never got to say thank you for keeping my little brother safe…when we first met at New Oz- I mean Omashu.”

“If that baby was your brother, then why did you call off the trade?” Katara asked.

“Because…I wanted to appease Azula…” Mai said, “I was terrified of her and she knew it and knew that I would do anything she told me because of it…And I did it to keep my parents safe from Azula’s father. If he found out that they traded that weird old Earthbender for my baby brother, I can’t imagine it would have ended well for my parents. I hated every minute of having to reject the trade but…it was something that needed to be done, for the sake of my family.”

“Aang ended up returning your brother to your parents after everything calmed down,” Katara said, “Even if we didn’t get King Bumi back, it was the right thing to do.”

“I figured,” Mai said, “You guys didn’t seem like the type to keep a hostage.”

“Is your family still in Omashu?”

“No, they fled after that King took his city back on the day of the eclipse,” Mai said, “They were also terrified that Ozai would punish them for losing control of that city and went into hiding. I haven't seen them since I left Omashu after we first met.”

“Hey wait,” Toph said, “Where’s that flippy-flighty girl who was always with you?”

Mai sighed, “I don’t know,” She said, “After we betrayed Azula, we were thrown in separate prisons.”

“You two betrayed Azula?” Toph asked, “Bet she just _loved_ that…”

“She loved it enough to try and kill me right after I saved Zuko, my uncle, one of those Kyoshi warrior girls, a few other prisoners, and a short kid dressed like a guard,” Mai said, “But before Azula could blast my head off with her lightning, Ty Lee Chi-blocked her. Azula ordered us to be thrown in different prisons since we were too dangerous to be kept together.” 

“So that’s what Sokka was going on about!” Toph exclaimed, “Didn’t he say they only escaped that Fire Nation prison because the “girl with the knives” saved them?” 

“So it was true…” Katara said, “I almost didn’t believe him.”

“Considering Zuko, Suki, your father, and that Firebender they came back with all said the same thing how could you not believe him?”

“I don’t know,” Katara said, “It’s just seemed a little farfetched and hard to believed.”

“How did Zuko fare after that? I heard he got thrown in a cooler and I wanted to make sure he was okay after that.”

“What’s a cooler?” Toph asked.

“It’s a small metal chamber they pump freezing cold air into to keep Firebenders subdued,” Mai said, “Firebenders tend to have a really poor tolerance to the cold and can even lose the ability to Firebend if they get too cold.” She said, “I know back when we were kids, Zuko’s father used to use a similar punishment method for Zuko and…he would almost always end up getting really weak and sick because of it.”

“That bastard used to do _what_ to Zuko!?” Toph asked.

“He had my uncle install a cooler in the depths of the palace,” Mai said, “And would frequently use it to punish Zuko. Sometimes it would take Zuko up to a week to recover from it. Zuko was once left in it for a full day…and he nearly died. I don’t think I had ever seen Iroh get so angry before. It took Zuko over a month to recover…”

“That’s... _really_ fucked up,” Toph gasped, “But yeah, now that you mention it, Zuko might have been feeling a little bit sick for a day or so after they got back.”

“Wait, he did? Katara asked, “Why didn’t any of us know about it?”

“He tried to hide it from everyone because he didn't want to be a burden,” Toph said, “I think only Aang and I knew that Zuko wasn’t feeling well for a few days. I knew because well, his heartrate wasn’t normal so I confronted him about it and he caved pretty quickly because the guy can’t lie to save his life. And Aang knew because Zuko didn’t want to Firebend while running a fever. As for why he didn’t tell you, he was kinda terrified of you at the time. And he didn’t want to tell Sokka because it was Sokka’s idea for him to get thrown in the cooler in the first place and he didn’t want Sokka to feel responsible for making him sick.”

“So Zuko got himself thrown in there on purpose?” Mai asked, “That idiot. So, any word on when Zuko’s coronation is going to be?”

“Not yet,” Katara responded, “Today’s the first day Zuko hasn’t had a high fever since the day of the comet and Iroh seems to think he’s going to sleep all day.”

“Yeah Zuko looked pretty rough when I saw him a little while ago,” Mai said, “I was only wondering because I kinda want to visit my family and let them know that Azula didn’t kill me.”

“Is there a way we could contact you when we know what’s going to happen?” Katara asked.

“Yeah,” Mai said, “There’s a messenger hawk in our residence in the capital that knows where our safe house is. I’ll let our maids and servants know you might be stopping by, so they don’t give you a hard time. Just have Iroh point out which house is ours.”

“Okay,” Katara said.

“So,” Mai started, “Do you think we can be friends?”

“I don’t see why not,” Toph said, “What do you think, Katara?”

“Honestly, I think it’ll be good to get a few more girls in our little group.”

“Thank you so much,” Mai said, “I’ll see you girls around then.”

“Likewise!”

“You know, when she’s not pinning us to walls or trees or floors with her knives, Mai actually seems pretty nice,” Toph said, “Now come on, let’s go buy ourselves something nice like Uncle told us to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a struggle...I wanted to write an interaction between Katara and Mai but there were so many different ways I could have taken the conversation, I think I rewrote it like four times. I already have the next chapter written so that'll go up in a few days. There's still a lot I have planned out for this story so it'll probably go on for at least three more chapters.


	7. Sun Showers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is quite a bit longer than the others have been and was much easier to write than the last on was.

For the first time since the comet, Zuko woke up at sunrise. He still felt quite tired and weak but he was feeling much better than he had been feeling the last time he had been awake.

“It’s good to see you’re finally awake.”

“Uncle.”

“You slept all day yesterday,” Iroh said as he placed a tea tray down on the bedside table, “Granted your fever had fallen just after sunrise so we figured you desperately needed the sleep. How are you feeling?”

“Really weak.”

“Are you in pain at all?”

“Not really,” Zuko responded, “It’ll flair up on occasion but it isn’t terrible. Where is everyone?” He asked once he realized that his friends were absent from the room.

“We set them up in guest rooms around the palace so they would be more comfortable,” Iroh said as he handed a cup of tea to his nephew, “Here, drink this it’ll help you regain your strength. The Sages are thinking about holding your coronation two days from now, personally I think that’s a little too soon given how severe your injuries were. But if that is to happen, I want you to stay in bed today, give yourself another day of rest.”

“Two days from now…” Zuko muttered distantly.

“Of course it’ll all depend on how you’re feeling,” Iroh said, “I told them I don’t mind taking care of the politics until you recover.”

“I’ll see how I feel as the day goes on,” Zuko said as he finished the tea his uncle had given him, “Uncle…”

“What is it?”

“Would it be possible for you to inquire about what happened to Lieutenant Jee…and the other members of my former crew?” Zuko asked softly, “I know it would be a longshot for them to have survived the siege of the North but…I feel like I need some closure. If they’re alive…I would like to have them on my personal staff. If they’re dead…I want to give them a proper funeral…even if it’ll be months late.”

“I will definitely look into that Zuko,” Iroh said, “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

“I want the scrolls for every law, mandate, and regulation the last three Fire Lords have passed,” Zuko said, “If I’m going to be stuck in bed all day, I might as well figure out what laws I’ll need to abolish.”

“Sounds like a plan Zuko,” Iroh said, “Just don’t overdo it. I’ll let your friends know you’re finally awake as they wake up. You’re feeling well enough for visitors right?”

“Yeah,” Zuko responded, “Some company would be good. When…when I can visit Azula…?”

Iroh sighed, “Not today,” he responded, “You’re not ready for a face to face meeting with Azula yet.”

“I feel the need to meet with her…before I become Fire Lord.”

“I know you do,” Iroh said as he placed his hand just above the bandages on Zuko’s chest, “But because of the injuries you sustained, your inner-flame is incredibly weak. If Azula were to try and attack you, you wouldn’t be able to use your Firebending to defend yourself.”

Zuko sighed, “What if I brought Katara or Toph with me?” He asked, “It could be weeks before I’m able to Firebend again,” he said as he remembered how long it took for his ability to Firebend to return after he had been burned by his father, “I just…need to visit Azula sooner rather than later…”

Iroh sighed, “If you can stand up and walk around the room under your own power, I’ll see if I can talk the Sages and young Master Katara into letting you visit Azula.” He said, “But that does not mean you push yourself to the point of passing out. If at any point you feel like you’re going to collapse, let me know and I’ll help you back to bed.”

Zuko nodded as he pushed the bedcovers off and carefully swung his legs off the edge of the bed. He then slowly and carefully stood, ignoring the momentary pain in his chest. He slowly took a few steps away from his bed, just to get a sense of how his body would take to it. He then slowly walked around his room and returned to his bed, panting for breath a little bit.

“Are you okay?” Iroh asked.

“Yeah…” Zuko responded, “Just a little out of breath.”

Iroh gently grabbed Zuko’s uninjured wrist and took Zuko’s pulse, “Your heartrate is a little quicker than it should be,” he responded, “Do you feel faint?”

“No, just a little out of breath.”

“Lie down,” Iroh said and Zuko complied. He then summoned small flames to his hands and carefully ran them up and down Zuko’s torso. He wouldn’t be able to assess the condition of Zuko’s heart and lungs as well as Katara could, but it would be enough.

“Uncle…when did you learn…?”

“After Lu Ten died,” Iroh said, “I spent two years in the Wan Shi Tong Spirit Library learning what I could in secret. I can’t do much but It’s how I kept your fever from causing your body to steam back when you got sick in Ba Sing Se and it’s how I kept your fever low enough to prevent it from putting an incredible strain on your already weakened heart a few days ago. I also used it once while we were drifting from the North Pole…Two days after the failed siege, because of what you went through there, you spiked a dangerously high fever…given the condition you were in at that time, if I didn’t do what I could to keep your fever low, you would have succumbed to it.”

“Uncle…what about… _that_ time…?”

“No,” Iroh responded as he extinguished the small flames, “That time your fever was caused by an infection…if I had tried to lower your fever before the infection was taken care of…you wouldn’t have survived it.” He paused, “I’ll talk to young Katara and the Fire Sages to see if they’ll let you visit Azula.”

“Thank you, Uncle.”

“Just stay in bed until then,” Iroh said, “I’ll have someone bring you some breakfast in a little while and I’ll see if I can compile the scrolls you want.”

* * *

Zuko was sitting up in bed reading a scroll when Katara and Aang entered his room a few hours later.

“Good morning Zuko!” Aang greeted happily.

“Good morning Aang,” Zuko responded tiredly.

“You look a lot better today, how are you feeling?” Katara asked.

“Tired and weak,” Zuko responded as he put the scroll down.

“You’re not in any pain are you?”

“Not really,” Zuko said, “I’ll get some nerve pain in my chest and up my arm on occasion. But it’s nothing terrible.”

“Do you want me to try to heal your broken arm or ribs?”

“You don’t have to,” Zuko said, “I can manage with a broken arm and ribs until they heal naturally. I…probably won’t be able to Firebend for a few weeks anyway.”

“What? Why!?”

“It’s nothing to be concerned about Katara,” Zuko said, “Traumatic injury and serious illness can weaken a Firebender’s inner-flame to the point where they temporarily lose their ability to bend. As I continue to recover I’ll eventually regain my ability to Firebend, it’s just going to take a few weeks.”

“Okay.”

Zuko turned to Aang, “So what exactly did you do to my father?” He asked.

“I took his bending away,” Aang said, “It’s called energybending. I was able to bend his life-energy to my will and I completely removed his ability to Firebend.”

“Are you sure he’ll never be able to Firebend again?”

“He attempted to Firebend at me multiple times and was unsuccessful,” Aang responded, “I’m pretty sure he’ll never be able to hurt anyone ever again.” 

“Where did you learn how to do that?”

“I wound up on the back of a Lion-Turtle told me about it.”

“Is that where you disappeared to the day before the comet?”

“Yeah,” Aang said, “I woke up to it almost calling out to me, so curiosity got the better of me and I had to check it out.”

Zuko scoffed a bit, “You had us pretty worried,” he said, “June’s shirshu couldn’t even find you.”

“Sorry about that,” Aang said, “But I think it’s what I needed. All of the past Avatars told me I needed to kill your father, even the Airbender Avatar before me, Yangchen, told me I needed to put my morals aside for the greater good of the world. But the Lion-Turtle provided the alternative I needed.”

“In a way I’m relived you found a way to defeat my father without killing him,” Zuko said, “I’m not sure I would have wanted to see what that would have done to you.”

“So you’re not angry about it?” Aang asked.

“Not really,” Zuko responded, “Why would I be?”

“You seemed pretty upset when I first told you I didn’t kill him.”

“I also had a high fever and was in a significant amount of pain when you first told me about what happened,” Zuko responded, “I wasn’t exactly thinking clearly.”

“That’s true.”

“But honestly, it was wrong of us to ask you to kill someone,” Zuko said, “Even though, you’re the Avatar, you’re still just a kid and…we should have done more to come up with an alternative way of defeating my father before you wound up on the back of a Lion-turtle. And for that, I feel the need to apologize to you.”

“I’m the Avatar, bringing balance to the world is my duty,” Aang responded, “If I hadn’t ended up on the back of the Lion-Turtle, I would have put my personal morals aside and I would have done what was best for the world.”

“Which would have meant killing my father,” Zuko said.

“Yeah,” Aang said.

“What’s going to happen to my father now?”

“That will be up to you,” Aang said, “If you and the leaders of the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes feel that executing him is an appropriate punishment for his crimes then I won’t object.”

“I won’t have him executed,” Zuko said, “Letting him live without Agni’s blessing is a far more suitable and appropriate punishment than killing him would be. Hopefully my family’s longevity blesses him with a long and healthy life so he can suffer every minute of it.”

“What if the other nations want him to be executed?”

“I’ll persuade them that letting him live is a much harsher punishment,” Zuko said, “He would want to be executed so I won’t let it happen.”

“Sounds like a plan Zuko,” Aang said, “What are all these scrolls?”

“The laws and mandates my father, grandfather, and great-grandfather put into place,” Zuko said, “I’ve been trying to go through them all morning and it’s been…really hard…”

“You should let yourself rest more,” Katara said, “Today’s only the first day you’ve been feeling relatively well since the comet.”

“I know I should be resting, but I was informed this morning that my coronation could be as soon as two days from now,” Zuko responded.

“What!?” Katara explained, “That’s way too soon!”

“It can’t be helped,” Zuko responded, “The nation can’t be without a leader for much longer. I think I’ll be strong enough for the coronation ceremony and the banquet.”

Katara sighed, “If you’re sure.”

“And there’s something else I want to ask you, Katara.”

“What is it?”

“I want to visit my sister before I become Fire Lord,” Zuko said, “And I want you to come with me.”

“When are you planning on going?”

“Later today.”

“Zuko you really shouldn’t,” Katara said, “You’re still really weak.”

“I know I am,” Zuko said, “But it’s something I need to do sooner rather than later. I need to figure out how to deal with her, before I become Fire Lord. It’s a decision that needs to be kept private.”

“But she’s the Princess,” Katara said, “Aren’t the citizens going to wonder what happened to her?”

“No one wondered about what happened to my mother when she mysteriously vanished.”

“But things were different then. I think you need to be honest about what happened to you sister,” Aang said, “Based on that play we saw back on Ember Island, everyone kinda knew Azula was going to become the next Fire Lord. So how is it going to look if she mysteriously disappears a week after she was supposed to crowned Fire Lord and all of a sudden you’re being crowned instead? That’s going to look really suspicious.”

Zuko sighed and rested against the pillows, “Fuck…you’re right,” he muttered.

“You need to do what you feel is right,” Aang said, “But at the same time, you can’t continue the trend of keeping secrets from the citizens of the Fire Nation. You owe it to your people to be honest and transparent about what is going to happen.”

“I’ll figure something out.” Zuko muttered.

“There you are Aang,” Toph’s voice called out as she burst into the room, “Uncle and a few of the other members of the Pai Sho Club want to talk to you about something.”

“Okay,” Aang responded, “If you need to talk to me about anything, I’ll always be there.”

“Thanks Aang,” Zuko turned to Katara, “What did you want to talk to me about Katara?”

“It’s about what happened the day of the comet…” Katara muttered.

“Katara I swear to the fucking SPIRITS if you start that “ **I** _should_ **have** _stayed_ **out** _of_ **sight** ” bullshit again I’m REALLY going to throw a fucking boulder at you!” Toph exclaimed, “Zuko for the love of the fucking spirits will you tell Katara that what happened to you wasn’t her fault so she can stop fucking blaming herself for what happened to you!?”

“Is that what you want to talk to me about?” Zuko asked.

“Yeah,” Katara responded, “I still feel responsible for what happened to you.”

“Katara, it’s like I told you the other night, in that moment, I couldn’t let anything happen to you,” Zuko said, “If you had gotten struck by Azula’s attack, there would have been nothing I could have done to save you.” He picked up one of the older scrolls, “This scroll right here criminalizes the practice and teaching of Fire-healing. There are only five Firebenders who have mastered the art of using Firebending for healing purposes and all but one of them has been banished. You said it yourself, I was going to die and given how I felt after taking the hit, I don’t think I would have lived another hour.”

“No, you wouldn’t have…” Katara muttered softly, “You were barely breathing, and your heart was barely beating…If my battle with Azula lasted just another two minutes…you would have died.”

“Katara, if I would have died if you had gotten to me two minutes later, then you would have died if I didn’t jump in front of Azula’s attack.” Zuko said, “Even if you survived the initial strike, I wouldn’t have been able to get you to an experienced healer fast enough to save you. I took the attack myself because I knew you would be able to heal any injuries I sustained and…so I wouldn’t have had to tell your father and Sokka that they lost another member of their family to a Firebender.”

“Zuko…” Katara gasped as tears came to her eyes.

“Despite how much pain I’ve been in and how awful I’ve felt in the past several days, I don’t regret what I did and I would do it again in an instant because I know that one of my closest friends is one of the most powerful healers in the world. So please, don’t blame yourself.”

Katara nodded as she wiped the tears from her eyes a bit, “Thank you Zuko.”

“So, as sweet and as sentimental as that sounded,” Toph said, “If you start to develop the habit of throwing yourself in front of potentially lethal attacks with reckless abandon just because you know Katara will be able to heal you, I’m gonna make sure your idiot ass never leaves this palace. Just because Katara can bring people back from the brink of death does NOT mean that you can completely throw whatever self-preservation you have out the fucking window, do you hear me?”

“Yes Toph.”

“Good.” Toph responded, “Would you care to tell us the story of how you dangerously overheated trying to Firebend while sick?”

“Just how long did you listen in on the conversation Katara and I had the other night?”

“Since Katara commented about you still having a fever.” Toph answered.

Zuko sighed, “It was shortly after my fifteenth birthday,” He explained, “It was winter and we were at the Southern Air Temple and I caught a bad cold that I thought I could downplay and hide from my uncle and lieutenant.”

“Oh boy I already think I know where this is going,” Toph snickered.

“I knew I was running a bit of a fever that day but I didn’t think it was high enough to skip my daily training session,” Zuko said, “Turns out I was wrong. About fifteen minutes in the training session my temperature spiked, I passed out and ended up breaking my arm.”

“Yup,” Toph said, “That’s exactly where I expected that story to go.”

“I ended up with heat-stroke on top of being sick with a bad cold and because I couldn’t hold water down, I wound up becoming severely dehydrated,” Zuko said, “If I had just taken that day off, I would have had a slight fever for maybe a day or two but instead I ended up bedridden with a high fever for a week and a half and couldn’t practice my Firebending at all for two months while my arm healed.”

“Ouch.” Toph commented, “And let me guess, you didn’t learn your lesson and did it again at some point.”

“Yeah…not too long ago actually…”

“When?” 

Zuko sighed, “Back before…”

Before Zuko could continue, Iroh walked into the room with another man who made Zuko smile excitedly.

“Lieutenant Jee!” Zuko exclaimed happily, “You’re alive!”

“I’m a Captain now, Price Zuko,” Jee responded, “But yes, I’m still alive.”

“How?” Zuko gasped, “I thought the Ocean Spirit took all the ships we had at the North Pole.”

“We had some _engine trouble_ ,” Jee responded, “Thanks to your uncle, we knew things were going to get bad so when we were a day out from the North Pole and two days out from the nearest Fire Nation Navy Outpost, we covertly sabotaged our ship’s engine with a crate of sugar causing it to completely malfunction and claimed that coal we had been burning for fuel must have been contaminated with something. Zhao was forced to abandon our ship where we were…We were the only survivors…”

“My father didn’t punish you for it?”

“There’s not much anyone can do when a battalion is forced to sit out a battle because a contaminated fuel source trashed their ship’s engine,” Jee asked, “You just pass it off as a stroke of bad luck. Every so often you come across some bad coal and there’s no way of knowing about it until it’s used in an engine.”

“I’m just surprised he didn’t view it as suspicious since it only happened to one ship,” Zuko said.

“We were the last crew to be added to the fleet,” Jee said, “Zhao had to scramble to get supplies for us. We just told your father that Zhao must have cut corners and provided us with cheep coal that hadn’t been properly inspected. Since Zhao died during the Siege there was no way he could contest our claims. We also said that we had offered to join the crew of some of the other ships but Zhao deemed it “too much of a hassle” and he abandoned us two days out from port.”

“Zhao was such a fucking asshole.”

“Shortly after Zhao “borrowed” us from you, we heard the horrible rumor that he had hired a group of pirates to assassinate you and that you had died in an explosion that destroyed your ship,” Jee said, “When General Iroh secretly confirmed that the rumor was true but you had survived the assassination attempt, we put our plan to "abandon" our post into action. Most of us were still loyal to you and your uncle.”

“Then why did you leave?” Zuko asked.

“Zhao threatened to have us court-martialed for refusing a direct order given by a superior officer.”

“I guess you didn’t have a choice then…” Zuko muttered.

“I sincerely apologize for having to abandon my post as your Lieutenant,” Jee said with a deep bow.

“At ease Captain,” Zuko said, “I was wondering if you would be willing to work for me again. I know I may not have been the…easiest person to work under and I know I’ve treated you poorly in the past. But, you’re one of the few members of the Fire Nation Navy that I know I can trust one hundred percent. And for that reason, I would like to offer you the highest position on my personal guard.”

“It would be my honour, Prince Zuko.” Jee responded with another deep bow, “Would you like me to see if I can track down the other members of your former crew?”

“If you wouldn’t mind,” Zuko responded, “I would like to offer them positions as well but I’m still on bed-rest orders.” He said glancing at Katara and Toph, “You may take your leave, Captain Jee.” Jee bowed and left the room.

“There’s a lot you’re gonna have to fill me in on,” Toph said, “But from the sound of it, some piss-baby Fire Navy Admiral stole your crew then tried to kill you by hiring pirates to blow up your ship with you on it? Then he abandoned your former crew in the middle of an arctic ocean and got himself killed by the Ocean Spirit? Did I get that right?”

“Yeah,” Zuko responded, “That’s almost exactly what happened.”

“Why’d the Admiral try to kill you?”

“I bested him in an Agni Kai then managed to rescue Aang from his clutches just a few months later.”

“Dude sounds like he was a big piss-baby who couldn’t handle getting shown up by a sixteen year old.”

“You know, I always kinda wondered why you looked like absolute shit and didn’t put up nearly as much of a fight as I had expected you to put up at the North Pole,” Katara said, “And I guess now I know why.”

“I had a few broken ribs and had only just recovered from the concussion I had sustained in the explosion,” Zuko said, “Then I nearly drowned trying to infiltrate the city and I was probably a little too hypothermic to Firebend effectively.

“Shit, you don’t have an ounce of self-preservation, do you?” Toph asked, “Katara, you better get used to healing him. Since I get the feeling he's going to keep you busy.”

“Are you still planning on visiting your sister at some point today?” Katara asked.

“If I’m allowed to,” Zuko responded.

“Iroh, what do you think?” Katara asked.

“I think if he rests for a little while he should be okay,” Iroh responded.

“If Zuko is going to visit his sister, then I’m coming too!” Toph said, “Since I’m a human heartrate monitor and his heartrate still isn’t normal.”

“Sounds fair.”

“You look kinda tired,” Iroh commented, “You’ve been up since sunrise, why don’t you try to take a little nap and we can head off once you wake up?”

Zuko nodded in agreement as he was quite tired, “That sounds like a plan.”

“We’ll be back in a few hours,” Iroh said, “Just rest for a while.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I liked how I characterized Jee in one of my other stories so much, I had to bring him back. While I'm not entirely sure if the sugar thing would work to destroy the kind of engines the Fire Navy ship use, but we're gonna assume it can. The next chapter might be shorter than the average for this story but oh well, it happens. Piss-baby is one of my favorite insults for people like Zhao (according to urban dictionary it means "a little bitch" which is fitting and less offensive than what I could have had Toph call him)


	8. Heat Lightning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I would have posted this chapter earlier but a tropical storm knocked out our power for almost 24 hours so, yeah...

A few hours later, Iroh, Katara and Toph reentered Zuko’s room to find him awake and sitting up in bed.

“Were you able to get any sleep?” Iroh asked.

“Yeah,” Zuko responded.

“He’s telling the truth,” Toph said.

“Are you sure you want to visit Azula today?” Iroh asked, “There’s always tomorrow.”

“Like I said earlier, it’s something I want to get done sooner rather than later,” Zuko responded.

Iroh sighed, “Alright,” he said, “Toph and Katara would you mind waiting outside while I help Zuko get dressed.”

The two girls left the room and Iroh handed Zuko an outfit similar to the one he had worn when he joined Aang’s group, “I think wearing your usual crown Prince outfit is out of the question at the moment. The armour would only aggravate your wounds.”

Zuko nodded and slowly and carefully changed into the outfit Iroh had given him, “Have you…visited Azula since…?” He asked.

“I have.”

“How…was she?”

Iroh sighed, “It wasn’t good,” he said as he tied Zuko’s belt for him, “I’m going to warn you, it’s not going to be easy to see her like that.”

“I didn't think it was going to be easy,” Zuko responded as he slowly stood up wincing slightly.

“She may not react well to seeing you,” Iroh said as he carefully positioned Zuko’s broken arm in a sling, “In fact she’ll probably react poorly.”

“I figured.”

“I just want you to be prepared for what you might see and hear,” Iroh said, “You’re not in any pain are you?”

“Not really,” Zuko responded as he walked towards the door, “There’s some discomfort and weakness but it’s not terrible. How are we getting there?”

“I called for a carriage,” Iroh said as he opened the door for Zuko, “You’re not yet strong enough to walk there.”

“Took you long enough,” Toph commented, “The carriage Uncle ordered just arrived.” She turned to Zuko, “You okay?”

“Just a little apprehensive,” Zuko responded, “I don’t know how my sister is going to react.”

“That’s understandable,” Toph said.

“Are you ready?” Iroh asked.

“Let’s go,” Zuko responded.

* * *

“Prince Zuko, General Iroh,” The head doctor at the mental health centre greeted, “We’ve been expecting you. You’re here to visit Princess Azula I presume.”

“Yes,” Iroh said, “These two young women will be joining us as well, Zuko is still recovering and is still too weak to defend himself.”

“Very well,” The man said, “Follow me.”

“Has there been any improvement?” Iroh asked.

The man sighed, “Not particularly,” he responded, “She’s still hallucinating her mother but she doesn’t try to attack us as frequently. We can’t get her to talk to any of our therapists but, we have been able to ease up on the restraints.” He lead the group to a locked room, “We have a chi-blocker in the room should she attempt to attack Prince Zuko.”

“I’ll go in first,” Zuko said.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Toph asked, “You’re shaking.”

“I’m just…a little nervous…”

“We’ll be right there with you,” Katara said as she put a reassuring hand on Zuko’s shoulder.

“Thank you Katara,” Zuko muttered, “You can open the door.”

The man nodded and opened the door, “Let us know when you’re ready to leave.”

Zuko sighed as he walked into the room once the door was open, “Hello there...Azula.”

“You.” Azula growled, “YOU TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME! BECAUSE OF YOU MOTHER HATES ME, MAI AND TY LEE BETRAYED ME, AND FATHER THINKS I’M A FAILURE BECAUSE I LOST TO YOU.”

“I…I never meant for this to happen to you.”

“BULLSHIT!” Azula roared with a bright flash of blue that caused Zuko to instinctively shield his face, “YOU WANTED THIS TO HAPPEN TO ME! YOU WERE JEALOUS THAT FATHER LOVED ME MORE THAN YOU SO YOU HAD THE AVATAR KILL FATHER AND YOU LOCKED ME IN HERE!”

“Father isn’t dead,” Zuko said, “The Avatar spared his life.”

“YOU’RE LYING!” Auzla screamed, “YOU’RE A LIAR JUST LIKE OUR MOTHER. YOU’RE ONLY TELLING ME FATHER ISN’T DEAD TO MAKE ME FEEL BETTER BUT IT’S NOT GOING TO WORK! YOU’RE NOT GOING TO FOOL ME!”

“Azula, I’m not lying,” Zuko pleaded, “Father is still alive.”

“YOU EXPECT ME TO BELIEVE YOUR LIES!?” Azula roared, “YOU WANTED BOTH OF US OUT OF THE WAY SO YOU PLOTTED WITH MOTHER AND IROH AND THE AVATAR TO KILL FATHER THEN HAVE ME LOCKED UP IN THIS HELLHOLE SO YOU COULD TAKE THE THRONE FOR YOURSELF. YOU WANTED ME TO END UP THIS WAY.”

“That’s not true!” Zuko cried, “I never wanted this for you! I didn’t want things to end this way!”

“LIAR!” Azula screamed, “MOTHER AND THOSE WATER TRIBE SAVAGES PUT IT IN YOUR HEAD THAT I NEEDED TO BE ELIMINATED BUT YOU WERE TOO PATHETIC AND WEAK TO KILL ME SO YOU LOCKED ME IN HERE.”

“Azula…” Zuko gasped he was quickly starting to get lightheaded, “That’s not true…”

“YOU WERE’T SUPPOSED TO GET OR HAVE ANYTHING!” Azula shrieked, “THAT’S WHY FATHER TRIED TO HIDE YOU FROM THE NATION. YOU’RE THE BLACK MARK ON OUR LINEAGE. YOU WEREN’T SUPPOSED TO HAVE ANY FRIENDS. YOU SHOULD HAVE LOST YOUR BIRTHRIGHT THE _MINUTE_ I WAS BORN. I SHOULD HAVE NEVER TOLD MOTHER THAT GRANDFATHER ORDERED FATHER TO KILL YOU. MY LIFE WOULD HAVE BEEN **PERFECT** IF YOU HAD DIED THAT DAY! FATHER WOULD STILL BE ALIVE AND IN POWER. AND WITH YOU OUT OF THE WAY MOTHER WOULD HAVE LOVED ME. I WOULD STILL HAVE MY TWO BEST FRIENDS. AND I WOULD BE THE NEXT FIRE LORD! BUT YOU RUINED EVERYTHING.”

“Azula…” Zuko muttered his voice shaking as if he were about to break down, “I…never wanted this for you…You’re…my younger sister and…I love you…”

“SHUT UP!” Azula screamed, “UGH YOU’RE SO PATHETIC YOU MAKE ME SICK ZUZU! I SHOULD HAVE KILLED YOU WHEN I HAD THE CHANCE!” She then shot a blast of blue fire towards Zuko.

Zuko instinctively staggered backwards as fear and panic began to overwhelm him. Toph quickly pulled a portion of the stone flooring up to shield Zuko from the attack.

“ARE YOU REALLY SO PATHETIC THAT YOU CAN’T DEFEND YOURSELF AGAINST YOUR OWN ELEMENT!?” She screamed as the chi-blocker moved in to subdue the irate Firebender, “DON’T YOU DARE TOUCH ME YOU FILTHY PEASANT!”

“Toph…” Zuko muttered as he felt himself beginning to black out, he didn’t have the strength to fight the panic anymore, “‘mm not…feeling well…”

“Katara, Zuko’s gonna faint!” Toph exclaimed urgently.

Katara quickly rushed to Zuko’s aid just as his legs gave out, “Let’s get him out of here,” Katara said as Zuko lost consciousness.

“One step ahead of you,” Toph said as she pounded at the door. The door slid open, “Azula tried to attack us and Zuko passed out.” She said as Iroh and the head doctor rushed in, “I’m sorry about ruining the floor a bit, it was the only way I could shield Zuko from the attack.”

The head doctor carefully picked Zuko up, “Let’s bring him somewhere where he can rest for a little bit,” He said.

“Why…” Azula sobbed as the small group left the room, “Why did everyone abandon me…Why did things end up this way?”

“That was…intense,” Toph said, “But…I almost feel bad for her…”

“Yeah…” Katara muttered as she followed Iroh and the head doctor into another room, “Should I try to heal him?”

“I don’t think that will be necessary,” Iroh said as he placed a cold compress to Zuko’s forehead, “I think he just tried to do more than he was ready to do. We’ll wait for him to wake up, then we’ll head back to the palace.”

A few minutes later Zuko started to stir.

“Zuko, are you okay?” Iroh asked.

“You were right…” Zuko mumbled, “It’s bad…”

“My brother did almost as much damage to her as he did to you,” Iroh said, “The only difference being, the damage he did to her isn’t outwardly visible.”

“I just…want a normal relationship with her…” Zuko muttered, “But…that’s never going to happen is it?”

“I can’t say for sure,” Iroh said, “Only time will tell.”

“Everything she said…hurt…” Zuko muttered trying to keep himself from crying in front of Katara and Toph, “It hurt so much to hear her say those things…Why did things end up this way…?” 

“My brother is a cruel and heartless person,” Iroh said, “What happened to Azula isn’t your fault. You had no control over what your father did to her.”

“I just…wish things were different…”

“I know you do,” Iroh said, “ I’m going to go and talk to some of the therapists and doctors so why do you just rest here for a little bit and we’ll head back to the palace when you’re feeling a little better.”

Iroh left the room and Zuko turned to Katara and Toph, “I’m sorry you two had to be dragged into that,” he said as he propped himself up a bit.

“Don’t be sorry,” Toph said, “We offered to come with you.”

“Zuko, I’ve been meaning to ask…how old is your sister?” Katara asked softly.

“She turned fifteen on the summer solstice,” Zuko responded, “She’s almost exactly a year and a half younger than me.”

“Wait she’s _younger_ than you!?” Toph asked, “I always thought she was at least a year older than you. No offense, it’s just…she talks and acts like she's so much older than fifteen.”

“I know.”

“She’s not much older than me,” Katara muttered, “I can’t imagine going through that…”

“I always thought that Azula was the lucky one,” Zuko said softly, “But recently I realized that _I_ was the lucky one…I had Uncle to care for me and lead my down the right path…Azula only had our father. Sure, for years she had Mai and Ty Lee but they only stuck around because she didn’t give them a choice. When it came down to it, they turned their backs on her. I just…wish things could have turned out differently for her…And that she could come live in the palace with me but…she’s just too unstable to be discharged...I want a normal relationship with her...”

“You’re jealous of Sokka and I, aren’t you?” Katara asked softly.

“Yes…”

“I’m not sure if he would be able to help you, but maybe you should try talking to Sokka,” Katara said.

“You haven’t tried to kill Sokka on multiple occasions,” Zuko said.

“Maybe you could try talking to Uncle,” Toph said, “I mean based on what you’re father looks like, Uncle is definitely the older brother.”

“Uncle had a tendency to avoid my father,” Zuko responded, “And I think once they got older, he decided to cut ties. Maybe I’ll try talking to Sokka.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” Toph said, “Did…your grandfather actually tell your father to…kill you?”

“Yeah…” Zuko responded, “I was eight years old…My cousin had just died. While I don’t know all the details my father said something to my grandfather that angered him. And as punishment, my father was ordered to kill me.”

“Holy shit.”

“I don’t exactly know what happened that night but, by the following morning my grandfather was dead, my mother had vanished and my father was being crowned Fire Lord despite his birthright.”

“That’s fucked up,” Toph said as Iroh and the head doctor walked back into the room.

“How are you feeling Prince Zuko?” The man asked, “We apologize for not restraining your sister for your meeting with her. We should have realized you were still recovering from a serious injury and should have taken the appropriate precautions.”

“It’s alright,” Zuko responded, “My friends were able to protect me. Do whatever you can to help her.”

“We’ve already discussed that with your uncle,” The man said, “We will do what we can.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“Are you feeling any better?” Iroh asked.

“Not really,” Zuko responded, “My head is pounding, my chest hurts, my arm hurts, I’m feeling sick to my stomach and all I really want to do is go back to the palace and sleep for a bit.”

“You’re actually be honest about how you’re feeling for a change,” Toph commented.

“It’s not like I can lie around you,” Zuko responded.

“That’s true.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to rest here for a little while longer?” Iroh asked, “You still look quite pale.”

“I just want to go home.”

“Okay,” Iroh said as he carefully helped Zuko sit up, “Let us know if you start to feel faint again.”

“I will,” Zuko muttered through gritted teeth. He was far too lightheaded to attempt to nod.

“Zuko, I really don’t think you’re ready to leave just yet,” Iroh said as Zuko winced in pain, “You really don’t look well.”

“I’m _fine._ I just want to go home.” 

“We could provide a wheelchair for him to use,” The head doctor suggested.

“That won’t be ne-”

“Yes.” Toph said cutting Zuko off, “If you wouldn’t mind.”

“We’ll get one right away miss.”

“Thank you,” Toph responded. She turned to the pale Firebender on bed, “Zuko if you try to stand up you WILL pass out again. Your heartrate and breathing are pretty bad at the moment, you’re incredibly shaky and while I can’t see what you look like, I can imagine you’re quite pale and clammy. You’re not walking out of here on your own, because honestly, you wouldn’t make it across the room.”

“You really ought to use the wheelchair Zuko,” Iroh said, “Your heart and lungs are still recovering. If you do too much before you’re ready, you may reinjure them.”

“Fine…” Zuko muttered. He didn’t have the energy to argue with his uncle.

“And I think I might tell the Fire Sages to postpone your coronation another day,” Iroh said, “I don’t think you’ll be strong enough in two days.” Zuko nodded.

“I apologize for the wait,” The head doctor said as he returned to the room with a wheelchair, “There’s a carriage waiting outside our facilities waiting to the palace.”

“Thank you,” Zuko muttered as he allowed Iroh and Katara to help him get on the wheelchair.

“We’re sorry about what happened with Princess Azula,” The man said with a bow.

“It wasn’t your fault,” Zuko responded, “I’ll return once I’m fully recovered…Hopefully things go better next time.”

“We’ll send you updates a few times a week if you want them.”

“I would appreciate that.”

“We hope to see you soon and feel better, Prince Zuko.”

* * *

“How are you feeling?” Iroh asked once they had returned to the palace and Zuko was back in his bed.

“Not great…” He mumbled. Traveling back to the palace and the walk to his room had done him no favors and all he wanted to do was sleep for a while.

“Are you in any pain?”

“Yeah…”

Katara stepped up to the bed and coated her hands in water then placed them to Zuko’s chest, “It doesn’t feel like there’s any new damage to your heart or lungs,” She said, “I think you just did more than you were ready to do. Try to get a little of rest then see how you feel once you wake up.”

“Could you tell Sokka I want to talk with him later?” Zuko asked.

“Yeah,” Katara responded as she finished the healing session, “Get some sleep.”

“Thanks Katara,” Zuko muttered before he drifted off into a light sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had no idea how to write Azula post-series. There were several different ways I could have written her and I couldn't really figure out which one I wanted to go with. My headcanons for Zuko's and Azula's birthdays are: Zuko was born at midnight on the Winter Solstice and Azula was born at midday on the Summer Solstice, which given that the comet comes in the summer would make Azula fifteen at the time of this story. I still don't really know how long this is going to be but there will be at LEAST three more chapters.

**Author's Note:**

> Ooh, a cliffhanger in the first chapter? I'm not sorry. Thunder-snow is a thing, I've experienced thunder-snowstorms quite a few times over the past ten or so years. This chapter was more their thoughts during and after the battle, the following chapters will be more dialogue based there just wasn't a whole lot a dialogue during that particular scene so I took a slightly different approach. 
> 
> (As I started to upload this story a fairly strong thunderstorm rolled in which I found incredibly amusing)


End file.
